


Who Could Ever Love A Beast?

by DorkyBlueFish



Category: RWBY
Genre: Beauty and the Beast Elements, Dragon! Yang, F/F, Fairy Tale Curses, Fantasy, Fluff and Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Mirror! Weiss, Romance, Rose! Ruby, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-06-28
Updated: 2018-09-07
Packaged: 2019-05-29 23:50:10
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 46,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15084443
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DorkyBlueFish/pseuds/DorkyBlueFish
Summary: Yang grows desperate as time grows shorter and shorter. If she doesn't find out how to break this curse, they will all be doomed. Taking someone captive was never her plan, but when the famous author's daughter comes to take his place, Yang feels something she hasn't felt in years. Hope. And perhaps something else as well. Beauty and the Beast AU (alt title: Beauty and the BEEast)





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hey guys! Blue here! It's been a while since I've uploaded anything, So I'm coming at you with not one, but TWO stories! The other story I'm putting up is called 'Should I Fall'. So If you like this one, give the other one a look too. So this is my bee version of Beauty and the Beast! But there are some twists and turns that you maaay not expect. Now Yang is a biiit ooc in this prologue, but I swear it was necessary (don't worry, we'll see our sunny little dragon soon enough!). I sincerely hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing for all of y'all!! Let me know what you think. Enjoy the Bees!

Yang looked across the ballroom and saw a sea of people. As it should be. In fact, with all the mirrors on the wall, it felt even bigger to her. A fitting celebration for someone such as her. It was her eighteenth birthday after all. She deserved only the best.

Strolling down the grand staircase, she caught everyone's eyes. She decided to be fashionably late so she could make and entrance and show off her new dress. It was a long floor-length lavender dress. The base layer was a satin type material. Over top of that was a sheer sparkling layer. It sparkled almost as bright as she did. Almost. A black ribbon tied around her slim waist and broke up the dress. The bottom of the dress swished and swayed with every step she took, like a bell. The dress matched her eyes, her enchanting lilac orbs. But, best of all, it accentuated one of her most beloved features. Her beautiful golden locks. The purple contrasted her mane in such a perfect way, she seemed almost unreal.

Perfect.

Everyone smiled when she passed by them. They all loved her so dearly, that much she was sure. Especially her closer friends. When she located them in the crowd, she pushed through the people (well, she didn't have to really push through, they moved for her).

“Yang! Happy Birthday.” The first girl told her. She had long perfectly crafted brown hair that fell in front of one of her canary yellow eyes.

“Thank you, Cinder.” The blonde told her friend. “I think the party is going pretty well, don't you?”

“Absolutely exquisite, Yang. As always.” The girl with mint green hair complimented.

“Could use some more cute girls. Most of these are…..” Said the boy with the gelled back silver hair, shuddering for comedic effect.

“Mercury!” Yang chided slapping his arm playfully, but there was evident mirth on her face. All the girls looked the same and Yang grew tired of all the confessions of love she received from them. The men too. Everyone was too average, too banal when compared to Yang.

After all, she was practically royalty. The Xiao Long and Rose family were very well off and very influential. Though their parents had gone missing when they were younger, their uncle had stepped up to uphold the name. Yang and her sister, Ruby, had wanted for nothing, Qrow made sure of that.

“You know I'm right?” Mercury defended. “Em was thinking the same thing, right?”

Emerald blushed and folded her arms.

“I said that no girl could match the beauty of us three.” She clarified. “Especially, Cinder…” Yang heard her say softly.

“I think you mean especially Yang. You are stunning.” Cinder corrected, ignoring the compliment the green-haired girl gave her.

“Thanks, I know.” The blonde said, giving a wink.

“And humble.” Mercury added, taking a sip from his glass.

“Hey, why should I deny the truth.” Yang defended, taking his drink away from him and stealing a sip herself, giving a coy look. She knew it, her guests knew it, everyone who knew the blonde knew it. It was the reason she never had a relationship. Dates, sure, but never a relationship. She just could never find anyone that met her standards. She wanted a story of beauty meets beauty, not beauty meets beast.

“Yaaaaaaang!” A high pitched voice rang out in the ballroom. The next moment, someone was practically tackling the blonde in a hug. Yang nearly toppled, but was able to right herself in time, used to her little sister's antics. She wasn't able to stop the drink in her hand from spilling on Cinder though. And she did not look happy.

“Happy Birthday, Yang!” Ruby shouted, squeezing her big sister even tighter. She then let her go, bounced up and down with excitement and looked around the ballroom. “Wow, this party is awesome, sis! I didn’t even know you knew this many people.”

“Thank you,” Yang told her sister. Why did she have to bother her while her friends were around. They were so cool and she was… not. She often times just made Yang look foolish. And she did not want to look like that on this special day. “Hey, Ruby. Why don’t you find Weiss and see if she’ll dance with you?” Yang suggested.

“I tried, but she wouldn’t budge. She says she has to keep an eye on everything. You know, guard duties and all.” Ruby pouted, kicking her foot awkwardly. “And then I told her ‘But Weiss, it’s a party. You should have some fun’. And she was all like ‘I can’t do that, Ruby. You never know when we could be attacked’. And then I said-”

“Well maybe you should try again.” Said Yang with a more commanding tone, cutting her off before she could go any further. Ruby, however, did not pick up on this and flashed a big smile.

“Naw, I wanted to see you! It’s your special day! Oh!” Ruby exclaimed, suddenly remembering something. She reached behind her dress and pulled something that she had kept in the belt of her dress. “Here! It’s your birthday present. It’s not much but-”

“A rose? Are you serious?” Emerald commented as the younger girl extended her gift to Yang. She held out a stemmed rose. It was as deep as Ruby’s dress, perhaps a bit deeper in fact. It looked soft to the touch (besides the thorns).

“Yeah, it was from mom’s rose bush! I’ve been taking care of it and-”

“And so you decided to give her something that she could have just walked out of the manor to get?” Mercury added in.

“Well, yes. But it has more meaning. My mom-”

“So very childish. Why are you even here?” Cinder questioned, stepping closer to Ruby. Her heels clacked loudly on the marble floor and Ruby took a step back in fear.

“It’s…. I-it’s Yang’s birthday.” She answered.

“Well Yang clearly doesn’t want you here.”

“What? Of course she does. Right Yang?”

Yang had had enough. She was sick of Ruby always sticking around when her friends were here. She never took the hints she dropped. She needed to be blunt. Get right to the point.

“You are just such a little tag-along.” Yang told her. “Can’t you see I want to be alone with my friends? You always embarrass me. Always. Even with this… this… This stupid flower!” Yang shouted at the end, knocking the rose out of Ruby’s hand. She looked as if she had just dropped one of her babies. Before she could reach for the fallen flower, Yang stepped on it with one of her heels.

“You want to give me a present, then leave me alone. For one night, just let me have fun with my friends.” Yang finished, placing her hands on her hips.

Ruby’s eyes started to water and her lip began to quiver. Without another word, she quickly dashed out of the ballroom. Ok, maybe that was a little harsh. But it needed to be said. And besides, the trio seemed impressed by her little display.

Whatever, she was still going to enjoy her party.

**XxXxX**

Ruby had definitely spilled what happened to Weiss. Yang noticed the guard's presence in the corner of the dance hall when she had been dancing with some guy (She honestly couldn’t remember his name or face, just another admirer). She was staring daggers at the blonde, a displeased frown on her delicate features. Sometimes she forgot that Weiss was a guard. She was actually quite beautiful, not that she seemed to care. She only cared about keeping the manor safe.

And Ruby. She cared very much about Ruby.

The youngest guard they ever had, Weiss came from a family of warriors. She was apparently trained from the time she was four, how to fight, protect and serve. Yang and Ruby’s parents requested her specifically so that they might have someone their age to talk and play with. But as it turned out, Weiss was too business oriented to relate with kids her age. She had a job to do and she was going to do it. She was tough and hardened.

Except for with Ruby. Ruby got under her tough exterior. And though she had never caught them together, she suspected something more was going on between them. Gentle touches here, kind words there. Weiss tried to hide it but… She was just really bad at it.

Ruby probably ran to Weiss. No. She tried to go to her room unnoticed and Weiss stopped her. She coaxed out the full story. Great, just what she needed.

_Thanks, Ruby_. Yang thought. She was going to avoid the livid guard for as long as possible though. This was her special night. No one was going to ruin it for her.

Not Weiss.

Not Ruby.

Not-

**Knock knock knock!**

The giant doors shook with each slow slam. Who could that be? It was way past the time to be fashionably late, and Yang was pretty sure everyone was accounted for. Maybe? She couldn’t remember all of these names.

Yang smoothly walked over to the doors and cracked one of them open. It was raining bucket loads outside and it was exceedingly dark out. So dark that she almost missed the hooded figure before her. It looked to be an old woman with a hunch. A hag. She lifted her head up and Yang was able to see under her hood. The woman had a long pointed chin with a big hairy mole at the end. Her nose drooped down, almost over her mouth. Behind her glasses, she saw two bulging green eyes. The hag raised a boney finger shakily.

“May I come in and rest, please? It is bitter cold and I am not sure how much longer an old woman such as myself can survive out here.” The hag pleaded. As she was talking, Yang took note of just how many teeth the woman was missing. She hardly had any left at all.

“No, we are having a celebration. Try somewhere else.”

“Please!” The woman cried out, grabbing one of Yang’s arms. The blonde retracted it as quickly as she could, disgusted that the hideous woman had touched her.

“I suggest you leave before I call the guards. We can’t have someone like YOU here.”

“Careful, child. For true beauty is found within.” The woman warned, waving one finger in her face.

“Well let me know when you find it, ok?” Yang mocked, closing the door in the woman’s face.

She walked to the center of the ballroom. All eyes on her, curious about the visitor.

“No need to worry, just some old hag.” Yang told them all.

“Some old hag, huh?” A voice came from behind her. Yang turned back to see that the old woman had let herself inside anyways.

“What are you doing? I told you to leave!” Yang yelled at the cloaked woman, stomping towards her. But before she could reach her, the hag was bathed in green light and shed her dark cloak. When the light dimmed, before her stood a gorgeous bespeckled woman. She had platinum blonde hair that was pulled back into a low bun. Her eyes were the same green as the hag’s, only now the shape was soft and delicate. She wore a grass green dress that was decorated with designs of golden leaves. She bore a wand (that looked much like a crop) and a disappointed look on her face.

 

Yang fell to her knees before the enchantress. Had she known what she was, she would have never treated her that way. She would have gladly given her access to any part of the manor that she desired.

 

“I gave you a chance, Yang Xiao Long. I gave you two chances and you still had no compassion in your heart for someone in need. No love in your heart.”

 

“Y-you know my name?” Was all that Yang managed to stupidly stutter.

“Yes, Yang. I know much about you.” She told her. Then, she turned her attention to the crowd who seemed just as frightened by her sudden appearance. “For all of those who do not wish to meet a similar fate as her, leave now!” She boomed in a commanding voice.

In that moment, everyone ran as fast as they could. They clambered over each other in order to get out. Yang wanted to join them, but found that she could not move, only stretch her hand out in a feeble attempt to make them stay.

 

But nobody did.

 

Within the next few minutes, the ballroom was empty, save for Yang and the enchantress. She looked to the corner Weiss formerly inhabited and found that she too had left. Yang was truly alone.

 

“No one stayed. Such a surprise.” The enchantress observed.

 

“What do you want from me? D-do you want money? I can give you that! D-did you really want a p-place to stay?”

 

“SILENCE!” She shouted. “You are being punished for your thoughtless actions. I am placing a curse on you, Yang Xiao Long. A curse that will reveal your true nature.” She raised her wand, readying it to cast the curse. Yang closed her eyes tightly, raising her shoulders to brace for the inevitable.

“Nooo!” Yang heard a high voice call out, running closer to her. She opened up her eyes just in time to see Ruby jump in front of her, taking the blast. Yang looked on in horror as one moment her sister was there and the next, she had transformed into a red rose. The flower was suspended in mid air as the enchantress frowned and plucked it out of the air.

“Just as I thought. Beautiful, inside and out.” She commented, twirling the rose in her hand delicately. “Your sister stayed by you, even when you treated her cruelly. When you stomped on her gift and turned her away.” She smoothly gestured over to the crushed rose from before.

“WHAT DID YOU DO TO HER!” A shrill voice shrieked from behind Yang. It was… Weiss. She had stayed. The guard drew her sword and charged at the enchanting woman. With a small flick of her wand, Weiss was flung backwards by one of the mirrors.

Not by the mirror. Into the mirror.

Weiss placed her hands on the glass. Pounding on them and demanding to be let out.

“The guard sees all, just like the mirror reflects all.” She said. With no other distractions, she turned her attention back to Yang and flicked her wand at her. Yang’s back arched as the surge of magic flowed through her. “Just as I thought. You may be beautiful on the outside, but you are hideous inside. This curse will slowly turn you into a beast, Yang. It will show everyone what you really are inside.”

“A… beast?” Yang asked, she felt her body start to shift. “No, please. Please turn us back. Please. I’m sorry.”

“It is too late for apologies.” She told Yang. The blonde braced her hands in front of her on the marble floor, shaking. From fear. From the magic coursing through her. From despair. “However, there is a way to break this curse.”

“There is? How?” Yang asked, feeling more hopeful.

“I cannot tell you how, that is something you must discover on your own. It must be done before your twenty-first birthday. If you break it before then, then you, your guard and your sister will all become human again. If not, you will lose your humanity and truly become a beast, your guard will forever be trapped in the mirrors of this manor, and your sister will wilt and die.”

“Ruby will die?” Yang asked fearfully. She sounded like a scared child in that moment, but she didn’t really care. The next moment pain surged throughout Yang’s body as she felt changes start to take place. Two of her bottom teeth grew larger, jutting above her top lip. From the top of her skull, two small horns started to grow. Her hands became more like claws, pointed and long. A scaled tail extended from the base of her spine. After the pain subsided, she looked up at her with tears in her eyes. “P-please. Just give me a hint. A push in the right direction.”

“That is what I’m doing right now. Like I said, I can’t tell you until you learn it yourself. But I will tell you this. You cannot do this alone. And the key is here.” The woman told her. She bent down and handed over Ruby. Yang took her as gently as she could with her claw hands. Yang thought of the present that Ruby had tried to give her before.

A rose.

Yang held the flower as close as she could without hurting her. The enchantress took her leave, while the blonde wept over the flower in her claws and the guard still pounded on the glass.

**XxXxX**

“This is just stupid, Yang.” The guard told her from the mirror. The blonde paid her no mind. She was in her room packing up some items for a trip. Well, it was actually her parents room, her own room had felt too small for her recently.

“Weiss, you heard what she said. I can’t do this alone.”

“But you’re going to ask for THEIR help?”

“They are my friends!” Yang told her. She had stopped her current task of packing and looked over her shoulder to the mirror. “They will help.”

“They are not your friends, Yang. If they were, they would have check to see if you were alright a month ago.”

“I’m sure they were just afraid of the enchantress. Can you blame them?”

“Yes, I stayed.” Weiss retorted.

“Yeah, but you have your honor or something like that.”

“Ruby stayed.” Weiss added softly.

Yang was silent, a pensive look grew on her face.

“I know.” She said, resuming her task.

“And what do you think everyone is going to think when they see you? They will run.”

“That’s why I have the cloak.” Yang explained, holding up the large article of clothing. It was far too big for her, but the perfect cover. It hid everything. Everything except for…

“And what about the tail? It has gotten longer, you know.”

Yang sighed. She knew. Everything had already gotten worse, in just a month. Her scaled tail had started out as just extending to the back of her knees. But now it had grown way past her feet, dragging on the ground. The scales had also started extending up her back.

Everything else had changed as well. Her front teeth had grown even larger, giving her an underbite. The horns on her head had grown out and started to curve in slightly. Her hands were also basically claws now, scaled and large.

She had found ways to hide all of these though. Due to her growing size, she could no longer wear her own clothes. So she had took to borrowing her father’s old clothes. They were still quite baggy on her, but allowed her to breathe so much more than her old garb. Right now, she wore a navy blue jacket that buttoned up all the way on the left side. She had on a large belt, black pants and leather boots. The boots were a little too small for her changing feet, but she made do. With the cloak on, the tail tucked into her belt and a large pair of gloves, she could hide who she was. What she was.

“It will be fine. I’ve got my belt.” Yang said, slipping said tail up into the belt. “See?”

“I still don’t like this.” Weiss sighed.

“I’ll be fine Weiss. Just wait, I’ll bring them back and the curse will be broken in no time.”

“If you insist on this foolish task, at least say goodbye to Ruby, first.”

“Y-yeah, of course.” Yang said, rubbing the back of her head with her clawed hand.

Yang made her way up to the west wing and walked into the rose room. It had been called that before because of the balcony the room led too. The roses grew all around the edges of the balcony to create a romantic scene. The rose room now had a double meaning though. It was also where they kept Ruby. On an end table in the middle of the room, right next to a full length mirror, Ruby’s rose stood suspended in the air underneath a glass case. She had a faint red glow to her.

“Hey, Ruby.” Yang said quietly. It was discovered a couple weeks in that Ruby could in fact hear everything that was said. On occasion, she was able to manifest herself in wisps of red in the air. She could not do this all the time. It took far too much energy and the other two were worried she would speed up the curse if she did it too often. She would normally just listen.

“I’m going off to get help. Cinder and the others. I’m sure when I explained what happened they’ll be more than willing to help.” Yang smiled sadly. “I’ll make this right, Ruby. I promise you.”

Yang left the rose room, refusing to let herself get more emotional. There was no point when the curse would be broken anyways.

**XxXxX**

Traveling to their village was much more challenging than Yang thought it would be. It wasn’t physically exhausting, she was actually doing very well. It seemed along with her other changes, her endurance and strength had increased as well. She was moving at a brisk pace and would probably get there much sooner than she had anticipated.

What was challenging was keeping her form hidden. There were a couple times where she had to ask for directions or purchase some food. Many were hesitant to help, not sure if they should trust someone who kept themselves so hidden. Others, who peeked underneath her hood, saw her monstrous features and ran off.

Yang sighed as she stopped to eat the one loaf of bread she was able to purchase. The man had been kind. He did not look at her suspiciously and gave her an extra large one, though she had only given enough for half a loaf. He told her that it wasn’t a problem and that he could tell when someone was down on their luck. Yang looked at the loaf again. If only she had been that kind a month ago.

Continuing on her journey, she finally reached the village. She wasted no time, taking all the back alleys to find her friends. They were all walking down the main road, laughing and chatting. Yang was immediately relieved once she saw them.

“Hey!” Yang called out, attempting to get their attention. She did not want to have this conversation in the main street. She needed them to come to her. “Over here.”

Emerald was the first to notice her. She looked at her with confusion and nudged the other two. Yang waved them over. Luckily, Cinder shrugged and walked over to the hooded Yang.

“Guys, It’s me. Yang.”

“Yang? Jeez, you scared us for a second.” Emerald said. She put a hand on her hip and popped it out in a casual gesture.

“I need your help.”

“Look, I’m not dealing with enchantresses.” Mercury said, putting his hands up as he began to walk away. Cinder tugged on his collar to bring him back.

“Mercury, wait. Let’s hear her out.” Cinder said. Yang knew she could count on her!

“She cursed us. Weiss, Ruby and me. She said we can’t break it alone. I need your help.”

“What kind of curse?”

“It… reveals your true nature.”

“Oh?”

“Yes, and we need to hurry. Ruby has been turned into a rose and I need help getting her back to-”

The three burst out into laughter. Hard, cruel laughter.

“I’m serious! She needs help!” Yang cried out.

“Well, sounds like you really screwed up, Yang.” Mercury told her as soon as he had stopped his hysterics.

“I know I did, but I’m trying to fix it.”

“What did it do to you?” Emerald asked with amusement.

“I… I’d rather not say.”

“I think it has something to do with that large cloak you’re wearing.” Cinder said, a malicious gleam in her eyes. “And why you won’t show your face.”

Quicker than Yang could react, Cinder rushed her and pulled down her hood. The three gasped at the sight. Yang hung her head in shame, but looked up slightly to make eye-contact with her friends.

“Please, I need help.”

“You’re… You’re a monster!” Emerald yelled, backing up.

“No, it’s still me!”

“You sure don’t look like they Yang we knew.” Mercury added with venom.

“I know, but it is me. Your friend.”

“Do you really think we could still be friends with a… a… a beast like you?” Cinder asked, eyeing Yang up and down with hatred and derision.

“What?” Yang asked, her eyes welling with tears.

“Have you lost your ability to understand english as well? We. Are not. Friends.” Cinder spat, maintaining a distance from her. She then turned around and waved the others to follow. “Come on, let’s go before it gets hungry and tries to eat us.” She laughed, and the other’s joined in.

To say Yang was hurt was an understatement. She was utterly devastated. She had trusted these people. Called them friends. And then they just… turned their back on her in her time of need. They laughed at her. They mocked her and her predicament. They laughed at Ruby.

She thought of all the times they were cruel to Ruby, and she had done nothing to stop them. She valued their thoughts and opinion over her own flesh and blood. Only now did she see her folly. Only now did she understand how foolish she had been. And it made her.... It made her very…

Angry.

She was filled with anger. Boiling. She felt something in her start to shift. She experienced another wave of pain strike her hard. Her height started to grow, her face felt longer than usual. The jacket and pants she had been wearing were now very snug on her body, ripping slightly at the seems. The belt snapped off, unable to handle the weight of her tail. Her soft, plush skin was replaced by a hard scaled one. She felt her horns grown taller and her feet rip through the leather boots. She had her eyes clenched in pain, yelling out (taking note of how her voice had deepened). When she opened her eyes, the trio had turned around and were staring at her in horror.

Too blinded by her rage and betrayal, Yang advanced towards the group. They ran off in sheer terror, screaming and yelling about a ‘beast’. All eyes were on Yang now and the rest of the villagers followed suit. Some ran, while others grabbed any weapons they could get their hands on. Confused by the sudden attack, Yang ran as fast as she could. She was covering more distance than before, but that didn’t stop the pitchforks from whooshing by her, almost taking off a limb. When she had reached a safe enough distance, she took a break from running.

Stopping by a creek, she took a look at her reflection. She gasped in horror at what she had become. No longer able to be seen as human, Yang was now more monstrous than ever. She had a long snout and an underbite with sharp teeth, showing regardless if her mouth was open or closed. The only thing that was slightly human were her eyes. They had taken a draconic shape, but had some human understanding to them.

Yang backed away from her reflection, unable to bare it anymore.

**XxXxX**

Weiss went about the manor. Well, as much as she could. The curse had luckily not just bound her to one mirror, but all of them. She was able to move to any intact mirror in the manor. She had tried moving to a mirror shard (Yang broke one of the mirrors when she first saw her reflection after the curse). She could not move there. Then again, why would she want to.

Yang was actually very helpful when it came to allowing Weiss have more mobility. She had scoured the whole estate for mirrors, took them and scattered them about. She had made sure that there was a mirror in every room, every hall, every place she should ever want to go. She could survey the whole manor. Weiss was grateful for that.

Though she wouldn’t even need it if it weren’t for Yang in the first place. Her selfishness and spoiled nature might very well become the death of them all. Yang was remorseful (so very remorseful) but she also didn’t seem very susceptible to change. She seemed to deny the seriousness of the situation they were in. She always brushed it off saying that she would fix it and everything would be back to the way it was.

Yang really did not understand what the enchantress was trying to do.

No, Weiss did’nt think that she should have gone about it in such a way (it did put Ruby in peril), but the enchantress was not trying to be outright malicious. At least she didn’t think she was. It hardly mattered right now, she knew that she couldn’t do anything besides advising Yang and watching over Ruby and the estate. The curse was in Yang’s hands (claws?) and whoever she got to help.

That thought alone made Weiss feel hopeless.

Weiss made her way to the rose room to check on Ruby. No changes, still the same. She didn’t expect anything to be different from the last time she checked two minutes ago. Still it made her feel better to check. And it made her feel better just being in the girl’s presence.

It always made her feel better.

**Ka-thunk!**

The sounds of the front door caught Weiss’ attention. She hastily shifted over to the mirror by the entrance. She saw a shadowed, hulking figure stomp in through the doors, out of the rain. It was wearing a soaking wet cloak, equally tattered rags and the remnants of boots dangling off of it’s clawed feet.

“H-hey!” Weiss shouted, kicking herself for stuttering when she was trying to be brave. But just look at this thing! “What are you doing here?”

The figure did not say a word, just walked on, further into the manor. Weiss shifted to the next mirror, ready to attempt to deter the monstrocity again.

“I don’t know what you want, but you need to leave!” Weiss commanded with more strength in her voice. Still, the shadow was not deterred. It kept going forward to its destination. Which looked to be…

The rose room.

No, there was no way Weiss would let… whatever this was hurt Ruby. Weiss leapt from mirror to mirror, yelling at the monster to stop and turn back, not sure of what else to do. When it finally reached the rose room, Weiss panicked. What could she do now?

“Don’t touch that rose or… or I’ll come out of here and d-destroy you.” Weiss bluffed. The figure kept its head down, but Weiss could hear something coming from it. Crying. Its shoulders started quivering up and down in a staccato rhythm in time with the sobs. When the creature finally lifted its head, Weiss saw a pair of watery lilac eyes.

“Yang?”

“You were right, Weiss. They weren’t my friends.” Yang told her, dropping to the ground. She fell into a fetal position and cried even harder, gripping her tail for comfort. All Weiss could do was watch. She knew that Yang would find out sooner or later, but she didn’t expect it to be this hard. She was heart broken. And on top of that, she was changing at a faster rate. She could no longer pass as a normal human anymore, which would make finding help even more difficult.

And no one could even comfort her, hold her and tell her everything would be alright. They were never particularly close, but in this moment, Weiss wished that she could do those things for Yang. She thought that consoling words would be the next best thing. Yet, before she could utter a single sentence, Yang said something that made all of her encouraging words seem trivial and useless.

“What did I expect though. I mean… Who would ever help a beast.”

Weiss closed her mouth, knowing that nothing she could say would help Yang in this moment. So she just watched the broken girl sob on the floor.

 


	2. No Sir, Not Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake Belladonna was an extraordinary who wanted more in life. But never at the expense of someone close to her...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey all, Blue again! Finally Blake comes into the story! Woo hoo! But this also means Adam... Booo. Every story needs a villain though, right? Thanks for all the feedback, I am so happy y'all like it so far (though that last chapter was a bit sad at the end). This should bring a little more levity. There is also a truly horrible pun at the end of this chapter. Let's play a little game. If at least two people can find it, I'll draw dragon Yang and post it on my art blog. I hope you guys like this chapter! Enjoy the Bees!

**Two Years Later**

The dark haired girl adjusted the bow on top of her head as she left the library, her raven hair swishing side to side in her low, loose ponytail.

“Thank you so much, sir.” Blake told the librarian, a brand new book in tow. Well, brand new to her, which made it all the more valuable. Even if it was a little beat up around the edges. The Count of Monte Cristo, she had heard of this book and had been dying to read it, but had never gotten her hands on it. It was a story of betrayal and revenge. The main character had everything in life, but is betrayed by his closest friends. She had started reading the moment she left the building. She probably would have read more on her walk if it hadn’t been for…

“‘He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.’” A condescending voice recited with ease. “‘And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into you.’”

“Good morning, Adam.” Blake sighed, still trying to read her book.

“‘Throw roses into the abyss and say: ‘here is my thanks to the monster who didn't succeed in swallowing me alive.’” The man said, putting a rose on top of the page she was reading, forcing her to look up at his face.

Adam, the hunter. When she first met him, she didn’t think he was that obnoxious. He first talked about his job as a hunter and what that entailed. Blake was intrigued; she had done some hunting in her past, but nothing on his level. This was new to her. And anything new was exciting to Blake. He seemed so excited about it too, real passion. It was almost cute.

But then he started trying to hold an  intellectual conversation with her. He clearly wasn’t in his wheelhouse, but he started acting more arrogant and pompous.

Unfortunately, she never saw the humble hunter side ever again. He taught himself more and now he was just… well… he was an asshole.

“Good morning, fair Blake.” He greeted, falling into step with her. It appeared her walk home would not be alone. Great. “Do you know who said that?”

“Nietzsche.” Blake told him, her voice monotone. “But what does that have to do with anything?”

“Perhaps it means that you are so wrapped up in your books that you reflect only them and not the world around you.”

“I think you might be changing the meaning of that quote a bit too much.”

“‘There are no facts, only interpretations.’”

“Nietzsche… Again.”

“See, this is why you’re so great to talk to, Blake. You and me? We are the smartest people in this village, besides your father.” He said, slinging an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. “I’m so sick of these hicks. Even Tucson. He may run the library in this town, but he doesn’t know a lick  about philosophy.”

“Tucson is a good man. There are different kinds of intelligence, you know.”

“Of course, the useful kind and the squandered kind.”

“Oh, is it that time already?” Blake said, pointing to the clock in the center of town. “I really have to get home to my father. Goodbye Adam.” She quickened her pace.

“Wait, Blake!” Adam called out, but Blake did not listen. She kept on her path.

She was not actually late, but there was no way she could be around that arrogant man a second longer.

**XxXxX**

When Blake had finally made it back home, she was greeted by somewhat of a disaster zone. Papers were strung about the whole house, words scrawled across them all. Blake laughed at her father’s writing habits. She began to carefully step through the wreckage of her father’s latest work.

Ghira Belladonna, the famous writer, was her father. With each book he released, the Belladonna name became more and more famous and their wealth increased. Not that this mattered to Blake, she had her father and that was all that mattered. After all, the small fortune was rather recent, only within the past five years or so. Before that, Blake and her father ran a small inn. but they struggled to feed themselves, let alone their guests. Then, by some miracle or stroke of luck, a publisher came to stay for the night. He started to read one of Ghira’s books and was blown away.

Ever since, their quality of life had gone up. No more hunting for food, no more scrounging for change. More books (Blake certainly enjoyed that), more clothes. But the city life got to be too much for Ghira, no inspiration. So they moved to this small village. They weren’t… The most learned bunch of people, but they were kind. And they didn’t have to be very well educated to know who Ghira was. The Belladonna name was big around these parts, his books having much to do with nature and adventure. It helped people escape their boring daily lives.

It certainly helped Blake with that.

“Father?” Blake called. “Papa?”

Then, from underneath a large stack of piled up papers, the large man emerged. Paper scattered everywhere as the man lifted himself from his hunched over position on his desk. He blinked a couple times and shook his head of sleep.

“Good evening, Blake.”

“It’s still morning, father.” Blake giggled, moving over to the large man and pulling a loose piece of paper off of his head.

“Oh right, of course.” He said, ruffling his long ebony locks. Most people were surprised when they first met Ghira, Blake could tell. Their eyes went wide when they saw the six foot nine man who was covered in hair. His chest, his arms, his face. He was a rather burly man. People didn’t expect the author of these beautiful novels to look like him. But looks can be deceiving.

“Writer’s block?”

“Oh yes. You can say that again.” He moaned, rubbing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. “I can’t seem to figure out how I can get from one plot point to the next.”

“May I see?” Blake asked, without looking, Ghira grabbed the paper that had the outline of his novel. Blake scanned the page and found two points that were circled. “Oof, I see what you mean.”

“I am doomed, honey.” Ghira said, letting his arms flop to the side. “I have enough to send to the publisher now, but I’ll have to figure this out eventually.”

“You will! I know you will!”

“Are you so certain? You couldn’t even figure it out.” Ghira said, swiveling his head to face Blake. “And you are perpetually reading.”

“Well who do you think raised me to be like this?” Blake teased, poking the man in his shoulder.

“That is a fair point.”

“Maybe you should travel a bit again. I know that always spurs some inspiration for you.”

“Trying to get rid of me, eh? Wanna throw a huge party with your friends?”

“Of course not.” Blake shoved the man playfully. “Besides… I really don’t have any friends.”

“What about that Adam character. He’s been hanging around you a lot.”

“Ugh, don’t even get me started on him. He is a pompous jerk who always thinks he’s right and is constantly trying to impress me.”

“Sounds like he likes you though.”

“Well, I do not like him!”

“Alright, no need to bite my head off. I’m just concerned for my only daughter.” Ghira raised his hands. “Maybe you should make some more friends though, Blake.”

“But papa, you’re my best friend.”

“As touching as that is, I’m fairly certain that a twenty year old should not be saying that.”

“Hey!”

“Kidding, kidding… mostly.”

Blake crossed her arms in displeasure. What was wrong with not having friends? All she needed was her father. Well… that wasn’t entirely true. She wanted a lot more than what was here. She wanted adventure, romance, something new. She was always looking for something new. After all, new was always good.

“But you’re right, I should probably go. Not too far. Just enough to clear the junk out of my mind.” Ghira said. He rose from his chair, more papers fell to the ground. “Who knows, maybe I’ll encounter the beast! That would make for a good story.”

“Ha ha, very funny, papa.” Said Blake. One of the first things they heard about when they came to this town was the beast that lived in the estate in the middle of the woods. Something about the beast slaughtering the residents and making the manor it’s new home. Some people claim they have been in there and seen the beast before. It lures them in, asking for help and then attacks. It was obviously just an old tale meant to deter people from the house.

“Laugh all you want, but I hope you know that I’m going in that house if I come across it.”

“Don’t you dare.”

“What, you believe the stories?”

“No… I just don’t want you getting hurt.”

“I won’t, I promise.”

**XxXxX**

After he had packed and was ready to go, Blake left a small kiss on Ghira’s cheek.

“Come back soon, papa.”

“I’ll be home before you know it.” He told her and headed out the door. He hopped on his horse, Gambol, and rode off into the woods. He thought that just being in nature would spark some inspiration. Seeing the trees would make everything just fit together.

It did not.

He kept riding through the forest, his thoughts running, still thinking about his novel. This wouldn’t do him any good if he couldn’t get his mind off of it.

_Focus on something else! Like… maybe how cold it is._ Ghira thought. At that, he pulled his jacket closer and tried to pull on his… his… Oh great, he forgot his cloak. Blake was going to bite off his head for that.

And then, soon into his journey, he managed to do what he joked about with Blake. He stumbled upon the manor.

It was as dark and as ominous as the people said, the large estate seemed to tower over everything, casting a large unnatural shadow. But oddly enough, it still… drew Ghira in. He felt something telling him, begging him to come inside and explore. And who was he to deny that voice. He fancied himself an explorer anyways, he couldn’t resist this call.

So against his daughter’s wishes, he disembarked Gambol. The horse went crazy when they stepped foot on the property.

“Woah! Woah, Gambol! Calm down!” Ghira said, attempting to ease the horse. Gambol, however, ran off in the direction of home. “Wait! No, come back!” Ghira tried to run after the horse, but it was far too fast for him. In the end, he just sighed, and turned back to the manor. He had nowhere else to go anyways, might as well finish what he started. Besides, it was getting colder anyways, the manor would be a nice place to rest for the night.

He opened up the grand doors and peered inside. It was dark and cold, which made sense. No one had lived here in years. Unless you believed the rumors of the beast.

“Ghira Belladonna?” He could have sworn he heard someone whisper. He whipped around to face them, but only saw a mirror. In fact, there were a lot of mirrors around. It made him a bit… uneasy. He moved across the floor at a slower pace than before, turning his head about to make sure nothing would pop out at him. He jumped when he caught a glimpse of a white haired girl, but found that that too was only a mirror. But he saw someone, he was sure of it.

No, maybe he was just being paranoid. All that beast talk had gotten to him. This was just an abandoned estate, nothing more, nothing less. The mirrors were just mirrors. And no one was going to call out for hel-

“Please… Help me.” A voice softly called. Ghira froze where he stood. “I need your help. Please.” He turned his head to face the source of the voice. There was a figure in the shadows. It looked big.

“H-hello?” Ghira called out. He should have just ran, he should have high-tailed it out of there as soon as he heard the voice. He knew the stories, he knew what was next. But he couldn’t just ignore a cry for help. It was in his nature. “C-come on out.”

“No. Please, promise you’ll help first.”

“I need to see you.”

“No!” It raised its voice more, but soon lowered it once again. “Please just help her.”

“Who? Tell me what’s wrong?”

“Promise me first.”

“I don’t make promises I don’t know if I can kee-”

“PROMISE ME!” The figure practically roared. Finally, Ghira listened to the voice of reason and ran back towards the door. But the monster was faster than him and beat him too it. Ghira fell the the floor and got a good look at the thing this time. A dragon-like beast guarded the door, it had massive claws and dagger-like teeth that jutted up from its underbite. Ghira had never been towered over like this.

“What are you doing?” A voice questioned. Ghira looked to the mirror beside the monster and saw the white-haired girl he thought he saw before. She was IN the mirror.

“I need help and no one is going to stay willingly. If I can’t convince them to stay, I will MAKE THEM.” The beast growled. It stomped towards Ghira, grabbed him by the collar and dragged him down into the cellar.

He should have just listened to his daughter.

**XxXxX**

Blake missed her father as soon as he left (though she was a bit cross when she realized that he had forgotten his cloak. Always so forgetful, that man). There was no one to talk to in this town. She would occasionally talk with Tucson, but he was often busy and rather quiet. Blake may have been the same way, but not having someone to gush about the books she had been reading had been a struggle. After all, Edmond Dantes had just been sent to the Chateau d'If. The story was really starting to amp up. The only person that wanted to talk to her was... Well…

“Oh, hello Blake.”

“Hello, Adam.” Blake did not have her book on hand, so she could not so readily ignore him.

“I was actually just looking for you.”

“Is that so?” She kept her responses short, trying to give the hint that he was bothering her.

“Yes, I have a proposition for you. One that I think will benefit both of us.”

“And what is that?”

“You see, you and I are both so well learned.” He explained. “And you deserve so much more than what these bumbling fools have to offer you.”

“Oh?”

“I can give you that Blake. Honestly, if it wasn’t for you, I would have never educated myself to this extent. And now I see the light. I understand now.”

“Understand what?”

“That we are so much better. And that we would be even greater together, a truly unstoppable force.”

“What are you trying to say?”

Adam then moved Blake up against a wall of one of the buildings. He put one hand beside her head. The other took a loose strand of her hair and twirled it. He only got two twirls in before she jerked her head to get away from his over-familiar gesture.

“Run away with me, Blake. Marry me. I know that you have been playing hard to get and teasing me with your aloof demeanor, but enough is enough. It’s time that you admit what you truly feel.”

“I’m sorry, what?!”

“I know you love me, Blake. I am a perfect match for you. We are equals in both intellect and beauty. Tell me I’m wrong.”

“Ok, you’re wrong.”

“I- What?”

“There is no way I could possibly love someone as narcissistic as you.” She told him, pushing him away and walking off. “You think I like when you act as if you know everything? Why don’t you try being yourself for a change, people would probably like you more.”

“But Blake, I taught myself all of this for you! This me is so much smarter. Perfect for you!”

“I never asked you to change anything! I actually liked when you talked about your hunting, You were so excited and full of passion. But then you put on this air of superiority. Did you really think I would like that?”

“Well… Yes!” Adam said. “I became the wise man that you deserve.”

“‘Wise men talk because they have something to say; fools, because they have to say something.’” Blake quoted. “Plato.”

**XxXxX**

“Uuuugh, he’s the worst.” Blake voiced as soon as she got to her house. She first stomped inside, but found that her anger was too large to be confined to such a small space. She was currently stamping down the tall grass near the modest house. She simply could not believe that man. Playing hard to get? More like it was hard to get away from him.

She almost wished that she hadn’t suggested that her father take a trip. It had been almost two days and Blake felt a twinge of loneliness set in. She wished he was here so she could talk to someone about what had just happened with Adam. It had always been just her and her papa. She had lost her mother at a young age, too young to even remember her. But Ghira made sure she didn’t forget. He painted pictures with his words, telling Blake all sorts of stories about the woman.

Blake clung to every word.

It was hard not being able to tell someone about her day, what she felt, her concerns. Maybe her father was right though. Maybe she did need to branch out and make friends. But she always found it a difficult task, everyone seemed too intimidated by her. And she supposed that it didn’t help that she always had her nose stuck in a book whenever she hit the town.

Maybe there was some verrity to Adam’s words.

No, she would not accept anything that fool had said. She could make friends if she really wanted to. She simply did not want to…

When was her father coming home already?

As if on cue, she heard the familiar neighing if Gambol. She rushed over to greet her father, but stopped in her tracks when the horse came into view. There was no rider, no supplies. Just a frightened looking Gambol, shrouded in panic.

  
Not wasting any time, Blake dashed inside, grabbed her father’s cloak and hopped onto Gambol, urging the horse to take her to where he came from. Something was clearly wrong if her father didn’t come home on Gambol, and she was going to find out what.


	3. Manors, Beasts, And Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake travels to find her father as quickly as Gambol would take her. She stumbles upon a strange manor, just like the one from the tale of the Beast... But no, it couldn't be true. After all, it was just a story, a fairy-tale. But Blake would soon find out that the fiction she heard of, might actually be a fact.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! Blue here again! Another exciting chapter and this time, the bees are gonna meet. Finally! Now we start getting into the heart of the story, but as you might expect, they don't get along right away. Thanks for all your comments, glad to see you enjoyed that last chapter. But no one got the pun! I'll tell y'all next chapter what it was if ya don't get it. It's... truly awful and just... stupid, but it made me laugh! Alright, I'll stop my incessant rambles and let you venture further into the story. Hope you like it, let me know what you think! Enjoy the Bees!

Blake made her way through the forest on Gambol, hoping that the horse was actually taking her on the right path to her father. She had been traveling for about half a day and found no trace of her father. Oum, she hoped that he was ok. Why did Gambol come home alone? What could have happened to him? And what made Gambol so nervous. When she first embarked Gambol, he seemed resistant to moving forward at all, she had to urge him onward. He was incredibly shaken. They say that animals have a sixth sense for danger, maybe Gambol sensed something before her father did. She hoped that he was still able to get away from whatever was so threatening though.

“Don’t worry, Gambol. We’ll find papa and get him back home.” She told her steed, patting the side of his head. He then stopped moving forward. “What’s wrong?”

When Blake looked up, she saw a hauntingly beautiful manor beyond an old iron fence. Ornate pillars stood tall and proud, covered in overgrown vines. The front doors were massive, much taller than necessary. The whole place just felt off though. Like something was wrong.

Was this the mansion they had talked about in town? The one with the beast? She was honestly surprised to find that the mansion had existed at all. From what she heard, people who discovered the mansion would leave and try to bring back others to dispose of the beast. They would be unable to find the mansion again.

Such strange tales.

Knowing that Gambol would not move any further, Blake disembarked and headed onto the property by foot. There was no time to be scared now, papa could be in danger. She may not believe in the tales of the beast, but that didn't mean that wasn't another squatter in the estate. One that isn’t too keen on trespassers.

Blake carefully opened the front door, making sure she kept the noise to a minimum. She was greeted by an enormous grand hall with a large staircase. It looked as if this was where the former inhabitants threw their parties. She imagined how it looked with all the dust and cobwebs removed. It was probably breathtaking.

She also noticed the influx of haphazardly placed mirrors. They seemed to litter the whole manor, from what she could see. Big ones, small ones, they were everywhere. It didn't help settle Blake’s nerves, she jumped a little every time she was tricked by her own reflection. Still, she pressed on. Silent and quick.

“Help! Someone? Is anyone listening?” Blake’s ears picked up a voice in the distance. She would have been wary of following the voice, if it hadn’t been so familiar. “Please, someone get me out of here!”

“Papa?” Blake uttered. Forgetting her stealthy approach, she ran to the voice. She followed a staircase down and found and old cellar. It was so dark, Blake could hardly see, but in the moonlight, chained to the wall, she saw a burly man. He was shivering and sneezing. “Papa!”

“B-Blake?” The man asked, raising his head to see the girl. His eyes widened and he struggled against the chains to sit up. “Blake! You need to run! It isn’t safe here!”

“What do you mean? What happened?”

“It doesn’t matter, I’ll find another way out, but you need to go!”

“There is no way I’m leaving without you!” She said, grabbing the cuffs on his wrists. She tried to find some sort of locking mechanism, but found that they had just been two pieces of metal put together by brute force. “How did they do this?”

“Blake… Run…” Ghira whispered desperately. She looked up to his face and saw him staring fearfully into the distance. She turned around to see a hulking figure approaching in the darkness. “RUN!”

But Blake could not. She found that her feet were glued to the floor. Where was she to run anyways? Whatever was there would catch her.

“What are you doing here?” It grumbled. Blake opened her mouth, trying to form words, but found nothing there. Only fear. “ANSWER ME!”

“I-I’ve come for my f-father.” She stuttered.

“Your father? He cannot leave.”

“What do you mean? Why have you taken him.”

“I need him!” The figure pointed to itself. Blake grew very fearful in that moment. This thing couldn’t be human, it was too massive. Did it intend on…

“You… You can’t eat my father!”

“What?! No!” It shouted, taken aback by her insinuation.

“Then why?”

“Because she needs help, and no one would help me.”

“What do you mean ‘she needs help’?”

“That is none of your concern, leave now!” The figure, stepped to the side and an appendage that looked like a hand… or a claw, pointed to the stairs.

“I’m not leaving without my father!”

“I SAID LEAVE!”

“And I said no!”

“Blake, just run! I’ll be fine.” Ghira told her, but started coughing soon after. As much as he tried to deny it, he was getting older and would not be able to stand being imprisoned here.

“No, I can’t leave you.” She said. Blake turned her attention back towards the shadowy figure. “Why do you need him?”

“He is a famous author, he knows things, right? I need that. I need knowledge to help her. Knowledge that I don’t have.”

“Then.” Blake started. “Then take me!”

“What?”

“Blake, no!” Ghira yelled, coughing more.

“I am his daughter. He taught me everything I know! And I am young! I can be much more helpful than him. So please let him go and I will take his place.” She pleaded. “Willingly.”

“Are you so sure you want to do that? You promise to stay?” The figure asked. It then moved forward, stepping into the light. Before her, stood a bi-pedal, dragon-like monster. It had a massive jaw that jutted over it’s top teeth, jagged blade-teeth showed, even with its mouth closed. The appendages were, in fact, claws. Sharp ones that looked as though they could tear through steel like it was paper. It was covered head to claw in bronze scales that shimmered ominously in the moonlight. It was wearing some clothing, but it was tattered and clearly too small. It had been sloppily sewn up in multiple places. The monster had a thick tail in the back and two curved horns that protruded from it’s messy golden mane. It’s angled lilac eyes seemed to stare into Blake. The beast was real, it was actually real. “Would you really stay with this.”

It seemed to gesture to itself, hatred evident. Blake gasped at the horror of this beast, but steeled herself. It didn’t matter if this beast could kill her in an instant. It didn’t matter how scared she was of this beast. Her father meant the world to her, and she would not let him suffer here.

Even if she had to.

“Yes, I will stay.” Blake told it. It looked very confused for a second, but then scowled and stomped forward. Blake was sure that this was it. This was the end. The beast would end her life with a single claw. But instead, it moved past her and uncuffed Ghira. Blake hugged her father once he was free.

“Blake, no! Please don’t do this.” He whispered. Before she could get a word in, the monster picked the man up with one claw and swiftly carried him up the stairs.

“Wait!” Blake called out, dashing after them. The beast did not slow down. It carried him all the way out, plopped him on his horse and hit Gambol in the rear to make him run off. When the beast returned inside, Blake (spurred on by hurt and anger) slapped it in its snout.

“You didn’t let me say goodbye!” She cried, tears streaming down her face. She soon regretted her actions, the dragon looked upon her with rage, its eyes had turned red. “I… I…”

Its face softened soon after though, seeming to show… sympathy? The beast gave a large sigh and when it looked back at her, its eyes were lilac once more. It turned on its heel and headed towards the grand staircase.

“Come on, let me get you a room.”

“But, I-”

“You are staying willingly, right? You… deserve a proper bed.”

“Why?” She asked with venom. “You didn’t think that my father deserved it.”

“I… I’m a little desperate, alright?”

“No excuse for being a monster.”

“LOOK!” It yelled, turning back an towering over Blake. Eyes red once again. “I’m trying to be nice here! Do you want a room or not?”

“Fine.” Blake said.

“Alright, then.” It said, already much calmer then before. “Then follow me.”

Blake did as she was told, but was already thinking of an escape plan. Papa always told her that she shouldn’t break promises, but she felt this case was different.

She hugged her father’s cloak tighter. As if he was still here with her. As if she wasn’t in this horrible place.

**XxXxX**

What the girl did for her father back there. It reminded Yang so much of what Ruby had tried to do. The selflessness that they both exhibited, Yang wished that she understood the importance of this when she was younger. When it really mattered.

She had given a basic tour and run down of the manor. It had been awhile since she had entertained guests, though she didn’t really know if the girl had felt the same. Every time she caught a glimpse of the girl, she seemed to be crying. She made no sound, but tears ran down her face, louder than any whimper she could make.

Yang tried to stuff down the guilt and pressed on with the tour. She made it very clear that she was not to go into the west wing. That was, after all, where the rose room was. The girl may be here to help her break the curse, but she did not trust her with Ruby. After Cinder and the others, she doubted she would ever be able to trust anyone. Before, people did what she said because she was beautiful. Now they did because they were scared of her. Either way, no one stuck around because they genuinely cared about Yang.

Only Ruby did. And she hoped Weiss too, but she had a feeling she was more concerned for Ruby than anything.

Yang walked into the rose room. Ruby truly had been wilting over these past two years. She used to be full and vibrant, glowing with mystical energy. Now, her light had faded significantly. There weren’t too many petals left. Nine, maybe Ten? Yang shook her head and dispelled her negativity. She was bringing good news to her sister, she shouldn’t be so glum.

“Hey Rubes!” She started, giving a small wave with her claw. “I’ve got good news. I found someone who is gonna help me figure all of this out. And she is willingly staying here… Well sort of… Ok, so I may have kidnapped her father… And she may have agreed to take his place… I’m a terrible person.” Yang finished.

She slumped her shoulders. Saying it out loud sounded wrong. But was it so wrong that she wanted her little sister back? What was she supposed to do? Every time she asked for help from travelers that found their way to the manor, they ran away, terrified of her monstrous form. Who could blame them though, she was a thing of nightmares now. Maybe she could have gotten more help when she looked slightly more human, but it felt impossible now.

So when Weiss told her that a famous author stumbled in, she knew that he was the perfect person to assist her. He had to be very knowledgeable. Then, he tried to run, just like all the rest. Yang acted out of frustration and desperation. It wasn’t the smartest plan, but it was the only one she could think of.

But now she had his daughter’s help. Blake Belladonna, it was a very fitting name. It seemed well crafted, just like the girl it belonged to. Yang had always hung around vapid girls who clung to her every word. Even from the short conversation she had with her, she could tell that she was nothing like them. She was intelligent, graceful, and genuine. Not that that made much of a difference in Yang’s mind. She could still just as easily stab her in the back like the others.

“But she’s here and she can help. Don’t worry Ruby. I promised you I would change you back, and I will keep that promise. You can count on me.” She told her, puffing up her chest and giving a big toothy grin. “And you can have all the cookies you want.” At that, the glow around the rose seemed to grow brighter for a moment.

Yang smiled softly at her sister’s excitement. She then took a seat on the floor and began talking about more trivial things with her sister (even though she knew that Ruby would not be able to respond). The draconic girl was not aware, that someone was observing her.

**XxXxX**

When Blake was shown to her room, the first thing she did was check the window. She was on the second floor, but the side of the wall was covered in thick vines. She should be able to climb down from there. The key then would be doing this undetected. If the beast knew she was trying to escape, she assumed that it would come after her and drag her back. It also might go after her in the woods. She didn’t have a horse anymore and would have to walk back. From observations alone, she could assume that it was much faster than her. If she was going to do something, she would have to do it fast.

She may have wanted something new, but this certainly wasn’t it, she knew that for sure. But she had to admit, there was something that interested her about the forbidden west wing. It might have been solely the fact that she was permitted to go anywhere but there that drew Blake in. What was it hiding? What deep dark secret did it have? She would not let her curiosity get the better of her this time though. Curiosity did kill the cat after all. She was more concerned with getting back to her real home.

She pulled Ghira’s cloak closer, adjusted the bow atop her head, and put her hands on the window, preparing to open it up.

“Running away are we?” A voice filled the room. Blake jumped and ran away from the evidence of her failed plan. “Oh please, I’m not clueless.”

This voice did not belong to the beast. It was very human-like, a voice of a young woman. But there was no one to be seen.

“H-hello?” Blake called out. She looked about the room, but saw no one.

“Over here.” The voice called again. Blake located the source, but could not believe her eyes. In the full-length mirror, stood an ivory-haired woman. She wore guards garb and had a scar over her left eye. She was actually rather beautiful, her eyes the most stunning feature about her. Such an icy blue. “Hello, Blake Belladonna.”

“You know my name?”

“Of course, I hear everything in this manor. I was the one who recognized your father. And…” The woman sighed and looked to the side. “I would like to apologize on Yang’s behalf. We did not mean to cause you distress.”

“Who’s Yang? How did you get in there? What do you mean you see everything?”

“Inquisitive one, aren’t you?” The woman said with a small smirk. She folded her arms behind her back and straightened up. “Alright, first question. Yang is the… well… she’s the…”

“The beast?”

“Yes, I suppose that’s the only fitting term for her right now. As for how I got in here… Well that is actually a long story. All you need to know is that I was cursed to be bound to the mirrors of these manors. That’s how I know what is going on at all times. I can be anywhere in this estate.”

“That’s incredible.” Blake commented in awe. “But, what do you mean cursed?”

The mirror woman let out another breath.

“Again, it’s a very long story. Look, all I can say is that we have been cursed and we need your help to break it.”

“Me? Is that what the… um…”

“Yang.”

“Is that what Yang meant by needing my knowledge?”

“Yes.”

How was she supposed to help with curses? Blake may be well educated, but curses? She was out of her element here.

“How did this happen?”

“Yang… made a mistake…”

“Well that makes sense.” Blake commented. The monster didn’t really seem to think anything through, it didn't surprise her that she made this happen. She wouldn’t be surprised if she did this on purpose.

“Hey, you don’t know her, alright?” Mirror girl snipped. “She has been through a lot these past couple years. We all have.” She looked down, and rubbed her elbow.

“I’m sorry… Um…”

“Oh, I apologize. Where are my manners?” She said, seeming to forget about her anger for a moment. “Weiss Schnee, pleased to make your acquaintance.” She gave a little bow.

“Nice to meet you, Weiss.” Blake smiled a bit. “You won’t tell Yang about… This, right?” Blake gestured to the window.

“No, I will not.” She sadly replied. “I don’t blame you if you want to leave. But I wish you would reconsider. After all, you wouldn’t be here forever.”

“How long?”

“Nine months, tops. Less if you two can figure out how to break it before then.”

“Nine months! That is such a long time, Weiss!”

“Not for us.” She said, misery infiltrating her voice. “Nine months is hardly enough time.”

“What happens after nine months?”

“The curse becomes permanent.” She told her. “Just please, consider staying?”

“Weiss, I can’t. I-”

“Please! I can’t lose her.” Weiss pleaded, her voice laced with desperation. “Just… let me show you something, alright?”

With that, Weiss disappeared from the mirror. Blake was about to check the full-length mirror, but then heard a voice just outside of her door.

“Are you coming?” Weiss called. Blake opened the door and saw that Weiss was now in a mirror near the door to the bedroom. Blake followed Weiss as she shifted from mirror to mirror. And they were… heading to the west wing?

“Weiss, Yang will be upset if I-”

“It’s fine, she won’t know.” She hushed, her voice getting softer as they approached their destination. “Look inside.”

Inside the room, she saw the bea- Yang standing by the most beautiful rose she had ever seen. It had this rosy red glow to it and just seemed to exude the feeling of… happiness and love.

“Hey Rubes!” Yang said to the rose. She started talking about how she got Blake to help. She even seemed… remorseful for what she had done? Blake didn’t think the beast was capable of that.

“Why is she talking to that rose?” Blake asked in a whisper.

“That is Ruby Rose.”

“Ruby’s rose?”

“No, dunce. Ruby Rose. That is Yang’s sister and my… Someone who is close to me.” Weiss explained, her face turning red. “She is cursed, like me. Except hers is worse. She was turned into a rose, only able to manifest and communicate with us every now and then. Less and less as time goes on, in fact. If the curse isn’t broken in nine months, she will die.”

“Die?” Blake asked for clarification. Weiss nodded sadly.

“All Yang as done these past two years has been for her and me. All the people who came in, she tried to ask for help. Unfortunately, due to her appearance, everyone just runs for the hills... Or worse.”

So, all those stories of the beast luring people in to attack them were wrong? She genuinely needed help? Blake listened in on Yang’s one-sided conversation. She no longer saw the harsh, bitter monster that locked away her father. She saw a softer, more vulnerable side. She was so scared of Yang that she never considered that Yang herself might be scared too.

“You can leave if you still want to.” Weiss told her. “You can even go out the front door. She won’t hunt you down or anything like that. Her bark is worse than her bite, trust me.”

Blake turned away from the rose room and started walking at a quick pace toward the grand staircase. But as she hit the top step, she looked behind her. She thought about the monster who just wanted to make things right. She thought about the love that both Yang and Weiss had for Ruby. It reminded her of someone else she would do anything for.

Her father’s cloak swished about as she turned away from the exit and headed back towards her temporary room.

Nine months wasn’t too long, after all.

 


	4. Barely Even Friends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake and Yang start on their search to break the curse, with some reluctance from the former. She does start to realize that there may have been some verity to Weiss' words. There was more to Yang. What she didn't realize was that some more nefarious plans were being hatched back in her village...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! Blue here! Got another chapter for you guys, Blake and Yang aren't on the best terms, but maybe that will change... Also the pun from two chapters ago was "Gambol, shrouded in panic".... Get it... Cause Gambol Shroud... Listen, I never said it was good haha! I hope you guys like this new chapter! Let me know what ya think. Enjoy the Bees!

“I can’t believe she just rejected me.” Adam complained, taking a sip of his beer. He sat at the town tavern with some of his hunting buddies. “After all I did for her. After all I had to offer, the ungrateful little bit-”

“Aw, lighten up, Adam. There are plenty of other girls here!” The man with the bowler hat told him. He was currently trying to balance his cane with one hand. It was actually rather impressive, considering the man was fairly drunk.

“But they aren’t her, Roman.” Adam slammed his empty mug down in frustration. “I want more in life than the life of a hunter in this hick town.”

“Yeah, I know, I know. You got your eye on that Belladonna fortune.” Roman said, tossing the cane up and snatching it out of the air. Adam didn’t even try to deny it, it was the main reason he wanted to court the girl. Yes, she was also the most interesting girl in the whole town (which wasn’t saying much though). He had a feeling that he would have still tried to marry her if she turned out to be exceedingly boring as well. 

Though it would make it so much easier if she were just plain and boring. All this time he had thought that she was simply playing hard to get. He was such a fool to not see her derision towards him. But Adam was not a man to give up. There had to be some sort of way.

“Roman, you are good at schemes, right?” Adam asked.

“I’ve been known to dabble… often.” He replied, his mouth twisted into a devilish smile. “Why do you ask?”

“I need to marry Blake if I have any chance of leaving this place.”

“Well, what did she say to you?”

“Something about being myself?”

“No, that won’t do… I got it!” Roman exclaimed. “If she didn’t like your little ‘intellectual act’, then how about you show her what a real man you can be! Show her what a strong hunter you are!”

“You think that will work?”

“Please, of course it will. There’s no way it couldn’t work!” Roman patted his back and waved to the bartender. “Two more tall ones, Junior!” 

The man slid down two mugs and the men grabbed them, crashed them together and drank it down in large gulps.

**XxXxX**

Large claws padded down the halls, heavy with sleep. Another restless night for Yang, dreams of the last petal falling and seeing herself becoming a true monster. The thought of that made her shiver. She pushed those thoughts away and focused only on her destination. 

Blake’s room. 

Now that someone was here, Yang was eager to get started. She had done some research on her own, but that only got her just so far. Especially since she started losing her ability to read after about a year. It was just all jumbly and confusing to her now. If she really concentrated, she could get through a page, maybe two. But that was for lighter novels, forget scientific text. 

She was convinced that the key to breaking the curse had to be in the library. Where else could it be? The enchantress said that the key was here. But there were so many books. She hoped that Blake liked reading, because that’s what she would be doing for the foreseeable future.

But first, breakfast. She had scoured the estate for something suitable for the girl to eat. She never really had to worry about feeding anyone else but herself. As much as she hated her beast-like tendencies, Yang had no choice but to hunt for her food. Often times, she didn’t even cook the meat, finding that her new body did not require her to (though when her fire breath developed, she would scorch a squirrel or two). In the cellar, she found some sacks of rice. After two failed attempts, she finally made an edible dish for her. It waited for her in the dining hall.

Yang knocked on her door as softly as her claw would allow, not wanting to startle the girl even further. Moments later, the door swung open. She looked as though she had already been awake for a while. 

“Um, good morning.” Yang awkwardly greeted.

“Morning.” She replied courteously, but lacked any sort of enthusiasm.

“Did you sleep well?”

“I slept fine.” She kept her response short, looking away from Yang in contempt.

“Alright, well how about some breakfast?”

“I’d rather just get started on work, if you don’t mind.”

“Oh, but I… um… cooked some rice for you.” Yang told her, lifting up her claw to scratch the back of her scraggly mane.

“I’m not hungry.”

“But you didn’t eat last night.”

“I’m. Not. Hungry.”

“Fine! Come with me!” Yang snapped, she felt her eyes shift to crimson. That always happened when she was mad. She hated it. It made her feel… less human.

Yang led her through the estate towards the library. Honestly, she was simply trying to be nice. She was a guest after all. She just refused her food after she worked so hard on it. Unbelievable. But what did she expect. No one can be trusted. As much as she says she is, she isn’t here willingly. 

Who would willingly be here with Yang?

“I need your help to find the key to break the curse. I think it's in the library.”

“You have a library?” She asked, excitement leaking into her voice. Yang couldn’t help but chuckle at this. The girl had tried so hard to remain stoic, but couldn’t hide her happiness. And when they entered said library, she didn’t even try to conceal it anymore.

The girl walked about the massive book collection, eyes wide with wonder. Her hands came up to her mouth and she looked as if she was about to cry.

“There’s more books than I could read in a lifetime.” She whispered. 

“I… Um… Well, you are more than welcome to read any that you like.” Yang offered. The girl turned on her heel and smiled brightly. The smile caused Yang’s heart to skip a beat. It was the first real smile that she had ever seen from the girl (from anyone, really) and it lit up the room brighter than the sunlight streaming in.

“Really?” She asked, bouncing with excitement. But then, she forced a look of indifference and anger after she remembered who she was talking to. “Thank you.” She said it in the same tone that she used when greeting Yang that morning.

 

Of course, what else had she expected.

“You’re welcome.” She told her, all the joy that she got from seeing her smile had dissipated. “So I need your help reading through some of these more complex books.”

“Alright.” She said, taking a seat and picking up one of the larger books. The girl had tried to stifle her excitement, but Yang detected an eager look in her amber eyes. Hungry for knowledge. 

And hungry for food, by the way her stomach growled. She tried to ignore Yang’s stare, but sheepishly looked up at her, and then to the ground in defeat, her shoulders slumping.

“I’ll bring you the rice.” Yang told her, shaking her head.

**XxXxX**

She could not get over how many books there were in this library. After Yang had left to get her breakfast, she perused the titles for a while. All these books that she had been itching to read or re-read. They were all here! Her smile grew when she found another copy of the Count of Monte Cristo. She pulled it out as soon as she saw it and decided that she would bring this one back to the room. 

She had no time for it now, however. She had research to do, and the faster she could figure out this curse, the faster she could get home to papa. Breaks weren’t an option for her. She had gotten about ten pages into the dense material when Yang had returned with her food. 

It looked like rice… sort of? She supposed that it was safe. Yang wasn’t going to kill her after all, she needed her. So she tried a bite. It was mushy, bland and… burnt somehow? But she had dealt with worse in the past and she was truly very hungry. So she forced herself to scarf down the whole bowl. 

“Thank you.” She stated.

“You’re welcome. Any progress?” 

“No, I’ve only read ten pages, Yang.”

“Well, I don’t know. You’re the smart one. I was kind of hoping it would be like… bam!” She said, clapping her claws together loudly. “Curse broken.”

Blake giggled at Yang’s little demonstration, especially the little guns she made with her claws. Wait no, this was the monster that kidnapped her father, even if she did have her reasons. She needed to simply remain kind enough to her, find the key to break the curse, and get out of there. She might have decided to stay out of kindness, but she couldn’t get close to this beast. 

But there was something almost… human about Yang. Especially in her eyes. There was understanding and… sadness? No, Blake would not feel sorry for her. It’s as Weiss said, this was Yang’s fault. Actions have consequences and all that.

“I’ll let you know if I find something.” She informed her.

“Humph, fine.” Yang huffed, crossing her arms in an over dramatic manner.

“Patience is a virtue, you know.” Blake quipped.

“Yeah. I have been.”

Blake looked up from her text and saw the same sadness and despair in her eyes. Her heart once again told her to comfort the beast, but her mind would not allow her to. She was just that, a beast. One she needed to get away from as soon as she helped Weiss and Ruby.

**XxXxX**

It had been hours and Blake had still said nothing. Aside from an irritated 'no' every time Yang asked about her progress. She flipped through the pages with a pensive expression, her hand idly playing with the ends of her hair. Yang was happy to see that she was so dedicated to her work, but this was driving her crazy. She needed to know what she was looking at, if it would help them at all.

“Anything?” Yang asked again.

“For the fourteenth time, no.” The girl huffed. She grew silent again and she tried to concentrate on her book. She, however, seemed to notice Yang staring at her. “I can’t keep reading this if you continue to watch me like that.”

“S-sorry.” Yang grumbled, looking away. She checked the grandfather clock in the room, which somehow still worked. It was around noon. “Um, it’s about lunchtime. Want to take a break?”

“And eat more of your rice, no thank you.” Blake said. 

Ouch, she knew that it wasn’t the best meal, but it was all she could come up with. Maybe something more substantial?

“How about some meat? I can go hunt for something.”

“I suppose that would be ok.” Blake told her. Yang left the library and ventured outside into the woods. Hunting was a trivial thing for her, she had long become used to it. But this time, she had to make sure it would be suitable enough for Blake. And that meant no biting into the animal or scorching it to take it down. After a couple failed attempts at catching some smaller rodents, Yang finally hooked a couple rabbits with her sharp claws. 

She brought them back to the manor and slammed them on the kitchen counter. She smiled, proud of what she had accomplished. But soon frowned in puzzlement. 

“Alright, what now?” She voiced her thoughts aloud. She had never cooked meat before, let alone rabbits. Did she just… stick them in a pot? No, that wouldn't do, there were bones and organs. Maybe she-

“Um, what are you doing?” A voice called from behind her. She turned around to see Blake. She had a skeptical look on her face. 

“Preparing lunch?”

“You don’t know how to cook.”

 

“What? Who told you that?”

“Weiss.” 

“It’s true, you don’t.” Weiss said, appearing on the mirror in the kitchen.

“Betrayed by my own reflection.” Yang said, in mock hurt.

“Please, you wish you looked half as good as me.”

“As always, you’re right. Happy, ice queen?”

“Yes. As you can see, I’m thrilled.” Weiss said with no enthusiasm. 

Yang turned back to Blake and saw an amused smile grace her lips. It made Yang wish that she would always smile like that. 

“Here, let me help.” Blake offered.

“No, you don’t want to deal with these.” Yang told her. She stepped in front of the offending sight. Blake, however, was not repulsed in the least. She moved forward and nudged Yang aside.

“Yes, I do. Unlike you, I have actually cooked rabbit before.”

“Really?”

“Yes, papa and I weren’t always that lucky. There was a time where we struggled to make ends meet. So I had to hunt for our food, rather than buying it from some market.”

Yang was a bit taken back by this. Her father was a famous author, so she assumed that she grew up like Yang. A cushy life with no worries.

“How… How did you get out of that? How did your dad become famous?”

“Who is this ‘she’ you keep talking about?” Blake said as she started preparing the rabbits. “Why should I tell you about my past if you keep yours so secretive?”

Oooh, she was frustrating…. But she was also right. She hadn’t really told her much, just basics. She might as well fill her in a little more.

“Ruby. I’m trying to help Ruby. She’s my sister. She… has the worst fate of all of us.”

There was a silence that fell as Blake continued her work of cooking. For a moment, Yang thought she was going to ask what happened to her sister.

“Well, my father and I ran an inn. It was doing well for a while, but we soon started losing customers. And with no money to fix the place, the inn fell into disrepair. One night, This old woman showed up at our door. Mrs. Goodwitch. She needed a place to stay for a while, but had nothing to give us. My father decided to let her stay and we treated her like any of our other guests, even though we couldn’t afford to. Then, without notice, she just left without a trace. The very next day, a publisher showed up and discovered my father’s work. It was like a miracle. Papa thinks that Mrs. Goodwitch had something to do with it, but I just think his good deeds finally paid off.”

Yang watched Blake in awe. This sounded so much like what happened to her all that time ago. She always wondered what would have happened if she had only let the woman stay for the night. If only she knew the importance of kindness back then. If only she had been like Blake.

She wondered if her and Blake would have been friends if the circumstances were different. 

“Alright, these are ready to be cooked,. Do you have a pot for the fireplace?” Blake asked.

“I think so?” Yang said, she got down on her hands and knees and opened up the bottom drawer. There was a large pot in the very back of the cabinet. Luckily, the opening was just big enough that Yang could fit enough of herself to reach for the pot. Yet, this did not stop her from smashing her head on the top of the drawer on the way out. “Owww.” 

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, just… I’m big… that was small… It was bound to be a disaster.” Yang explained, rubbing her head. And then, Blake laughed. Not hateful or malicious laughter. No, it was light and full of amusement. Yang was able to see her beautiful smile once again. And once again her heart stuttered. Yang found herself laughing along with her, even if it was at her own expense.

**XxXxX**

Lunch was much better than breakfast, probably because Blake made it. The look on Yang’s face when she took the first sip of the rabbit stew was priceless though. It was as if she hadn’t eaten a home cooked meal in years. She probably hadn’t. Do dragons even need to cook?

But that wasn’t the only thing that made lunch better. As much as she tried to resist it, there was something about Yang that drew her in. She was actually quite fascinating, like something out of a fairytale. She was a book that she wanted to finish to the end. Yet she knew that she should still maintain her distance. It was only yesterday that she had her father locked up in a cold cellar. She was still a beast.

But she didn’t act like the beasts she had read about. She had a temper and looked terrifying, but she could tell that Weiss was right. Her bark was much worse than her bite. On top of everything, there seemed to be some self-hatred. It seemed as though she was at constant odds with herself. She walked like a human, even though it would be easier for her too walk on all fours. There were times when she could have used her claws or tail to get tasks done, but she chose not to. She chose to do things like any other person would have to. The only thing she used often was her firebreath. It’s how she lit the fire for the stew. And when it got later in the day, she would use it to light the candles.

Her curiosity was peaked. Her first priority would be figuring out the curse, but she also wanted to figure out Yang. 

From a safe distance, of course. 

“You should probably get some rest, Blake.” Yang told her, even though she was the one who was falling asleep on her propped up claw. It made sense though, all she had done all day was watch Blake search through text after text. Why didn’t she read through some too? It would cut down on time. 

“I’m fine. I need to finish this section.” Blake said, but the words started shifting and sliding on the page. Her eyes felt very heavy and kept closing at longer intervals each time. 

The next time she opened her eyes, she found herself tucked into her temporary bed. How did she get here? She supposed that Yang brought her here. That was… sweet. She snuggled into the bed and decided to try and go back to sleep after all.

**XxXxX**

The next few days proceeded much like the first one, albeit, a little less resistance from Blake. But something did concern Yang. Blake had been wearing the same clothing for the past couple days. So when Yang retrieved her that morning, she brought her to another room instead. A room she hadn’t been too in a long time. 

“What are we doing here?” Blake asked as Yang stopped just outside the door of her old bedroom.

“You need some new clothes. You don’t want to be in these rags forever, do you?” Yang said, trying to touch the cloak she had wrapped around her. But Blake jumped back before she could make contact. Yang retracted her claw. “I’m sorry. I-”

"This is all I have of my father, right now.” She mumbed. Yang’s heart panged with guilt. 

“I’m... sorry.” Yang said, but received no reply. “Anyways, these clothes should fit you.” She pushed open the door and walked inside. She tried to direct Blake towards the closet, but the girl’s eyes were taking in the wreckage all around her. The bed was snapped in half, the bedposts shredded up (almost as if an oversized cat came along and ruined it), and there were claw marks all around the walls. 

“What happened here?”

“I happened.”

“But,” Blake started, touching one of the claw marks on the wall. “These claws are much smaller than yours.”

“Yeah, well I used to be a lot smaller.”

“You did?”

“Yes.”

“Do dragons have large growth spurts or something?”

“No! I just!” Yang said, losing her temper for a moment. “It’s a-”

“Long story? Yes, I’ve been hearing that a lot lately.” Blake said, staring at the mirror in the room. Yang looked over and just caught a glimpse of Weiss before she left. What was Weiss telling Blake?

“Anyways, there are some clothes here that should fit you.” Yang pointed to the closet. Blake walked over and looked inside.

“Who did these belong to?”

“Let me know if they fit. I’ll be in the library.” Yang said, ignoring her query.

**XxXxX**

In the past week or so, Adam had really put his nose to the grindstone. He had hunted with more determination than ever before, set on impressing Blake. He would come into town and spout off about his latest kill. Many girls flocked around him to listen, but not the one he wanted. In fact, he had not seen a trace of the girl since she rejected him. 

Frustrated that his efforts were not being shown to the proper audience, Adam stomped over to her home. He pounded on the door. A couple seconds later, a frazzled man that Adam knew to be Blake’s father opened the door.

“Hello?” 

“Hello, is Blake here.” Adam asked, trying to hide the frustration in his voice. The large man gripped his hands into fists and shook his head. 

“No, she’s not, I’m trying to get her back.”

“Get her back?”

“Yes! A beast has taken her!” Ghira looked down at adam with a mad look in his eyes. It appeared as though he hadn’t slept in days. “I tried looking for the manor again, but I couldn’t find my way. Like it disappeared.” The man trailed off, venturing further into the house. There was a map pinned to a wall, with scrawlings of different paths. At this point, it all looked like a bunch of useless scribbles. Just how many times had the man gone into the woods.

“You can’t be serious, Ghira. Are you just lying so that she can continue to ignore me?”

“Why would I lie about this?” Ghira snapped.

“A beast, you say?” Adam clarified. “You mean it’s real? Are you sure?”

“Yes! I saw it! It was… it was massive and… looked like a dragon!”

A dragon, now that was impressive. Then, a metaphorical light bulb flashed. A dragon was a very impressive beast. If it was real and he were to kill it, than that would truly show off his hunting prowess. Then, maybe it would finally convince Blake that he could be what she wanted, especially if the man was telling the truth and she was being held captive by it. Oh this was perfect. 

“You know, as a hunter, I am trained to track things down. Maybe I can... be of assistance?” Adam said, a smirk growing.


	5. Then Somebody Bends

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Blake had read many books in her past, but for the first time, she began to truly understand the phrase "don't judge a book by it's cover".

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey friends! Blue here! Another chapter of this fairytale romance. I hope you guys like it. Thanks for the feedback! Let me know what you think of this. Enjoy the Bees!

The clothes had fit perfectly, though they were more ritzy than she expected. It wasn’t that they were flashy, it was just that the material on each article was actually very nice. They must have cost a fortune. Her only complaint was that they had clearly not been washed in a couple years. There was one dress in the very back that piqued her interest. It was the only one that had a covering on it. She was about to take a peak when Yang came back to ask how they fit. 

So much for waiting in the library.

That was something she had grown used to, though. The beast simply had no patience. She could only imagine what Weiss had to put up with as Yang waited for people to find the manor. That was another thing she was curious about. How come no one was able to find this place after the first time? Whenever anyone would attempt to find the manor again, they would be unable to. She told Yang that she would be along in a moment and decided to ask Weiss about it,  knowing that Yang was most likely oblivious to this fact. 

“Weiss, how come no one can find this place twice?”

“Hmm.” Said the mirror guard. “It’s a good question, and I have a theory, but nothing I can prove.”

“What is it?”

“Well, it appears that the manor was enchanted too, along with us. There seems to be some sort of cloak around us. Only those who are not looking for the manor, or anything within it can find it.”

“But I was looking for my father and found the manor.”

“Well, there is one exception. It has only happened twice… Well three times now.” Weiss informed her. “If someone takes something, or has something that belongs to someone here, they can find it again. The first time, the man had picked up a candlestick to see better and ran out with it when Yang showed up. We expected that we would never see him again, just like all the others. But then he came back with a sword and tried to… Well… let’s just say that Yang was very lucky to survive that night.”

“He just attacked her? Did she do anything?”

“No, but that wouldn’t be the first time something like this has happened. Fight or flight, it’s human nature. We are fortunate that most people chose flight, but some do fight back. Nothing too bad normally, but this man already knew about her. He was prepared.”

“And the second time?” Blake forced herself to ask. She felt bad enough just hearing about the first one, but a second time? What had they done to her?

“Yang wasn’t caught off guard as much as the first time. She was able to disarm the intruder before she could do any damage. That woman took the blanket from the couch.”

“So, because I had my father’s cloak, I was able to come here?”

“I believe so, yes. That is also why Yang was more on edge upon your arrival. We thought that you had more… cruel intentions.”

“Well you shouldn’t judge a book by it’s cover.” Blake retorted with a smirk.

“I should say the same thing to you.” Weiss said, crossing her arms, popping her hip and giving an equally (if not greater) snarky smirk. “Yang has come a long way from where she was. She’s not bad.”

“She kidnapped my father and is keeping me here. I’ve read this book, Weiss.”

“I told you, you can leave at any point. You aren’t bound here. So why do you stay? It’s obvious that it isn't for Yang. So why?”

“I… I want to help you and Ruby. This curse wasn’t your fault and it certainly wasn’t your choice.”

“That is not entirely true.”

“What do you mean?”

“Ruby and I are like this because we stuck by Yang. Ruby tried to take the curse instead of Yang and I rushed in to stop her as well.”

“Her?” Blake asked. Even though she was supposed to help them break it, the curse had always seemed like such a touchy subject. This was new information and Blake’s curious nature kicked into overdrive.

“The… Enchantress that did this to us.” Weiss sighed.

“An enchantress? They exist?”

“You are literally talking to a girl stuck in a mirror, and you are asking about enchantresses?”

“Oh, right. Sorry, all this magic stuff is new to me. I never really believed in all of it.”

“But don’t you read so often?”

“Yes, but that’s fiction.” Blake told her. “I can get lost in it without fear of being sucked in too deep. I just have to close the book.”

“I’m sorry you got wrapped up in this as well, but I'm glad that you are the one to help us. Kindness is not something many of us have seen in a long time, especially Yang. And she’s the one who needs it the most.”

Blake looked at her feet and left to meet up with Yang, offering a small thanks and goodbye to Weiss. She had been pretty snippy with Yang, hadn’t she? Maybe she could stand to be a little more understanding. After all, it’s not like she really hurt her father. And with enough dedication, she could find a way to break the curse soon and would be with him again. 

Oh but she frustrated her so much sometimes. Especially since Blake did all the research while she just sat around doing nothing. So when the same thing occurred today, Blake had had enough.

“Anything yet?” Yang moaned.

“Maybe it would go faster if I wasn’t the only one who was researching, hmm?” Blake growled. 

“I… I can research too!” Yang retorted with indignation, taking the bait. She looked across the books on the table and picked a thin one up, opening and squinting at the book in concentration. And She was… sounding out the words? “Th-the.... D-d…. D-dog…. Aaaand….”

“What in the world are you reading?” Blake exclaimed, frustrated with the beast’s antics. She got up and stomped over to the figure bent over the desk. Wait, was she reading… No, she couldn’t be. “Are you reading a picture book?”

Before Yang was a small book that had an illustration of a golden retriever chasing after a ball. Blake had to stifle her laughter after seeing the look of realization and horror on Yang’s draconic face.

“No!... Well yes. But I can read other things.”

“Really now?” Blake asked, seeing through the beast’s obvious bluff. She picked up another book, a very light novel that she remembers reading when she was younger. “Read this to me then.”

“Fine!” Yang said, snatching the book out of Blake’s hand with frustration. She opened up the book and held it up as if it was some great mystery that she could not figure out. After some time of hard concentration (after she realized the book was upside down), Yang flopped the book back down on the desk. “Ok, you win. Happy now?”

“You can’t read?” Blake asked.

“I used to be able to. And then,” Yang said, gesturing to herself. “This happened. It all became so confusing. The words bounce on the page and I can’t make sense of it, except for that picture book. The text is still… jumbled, but I can sort of read it.”

Yang looked so embarrassed in that moment, so defeated. And Blake felt she was the cause of it. She felt bad. It struck her funny, at first, the idea of Yang reading a silly picture book and calling it ‘research’. But she had no idea that it was not of her own volition. Yang didn’t strike her as a heavy reader, but she tried to put herself in her shoes. The shoes of someone who was slowly losing the ability to read. That would be an absolute nightmare to Blake, and she imagined that it wasn’t exactly a walk in the park for Yang. 

“I’m sorry,”

“It’s alright, I’ve accepted this. It’s what I deserve.”

“Yang.”

“Anyways, you shouldn’t waste time on my lack of skills and focus on your own research.”

“I… Alright.” Blake relented. But she couldn’t focus on her book after that. She kept sneaking looks at Yang and her morose, broken expression. Blake had to do something to help her. And she had the perfect idea.

**XxXxX**

“You want to do what?” Yang asked, making sure she heard her right. Blake, the girl who had been so snarky and snippy with her for as long as she knew her, was offering to read Yang some books.

“I figured that it would be something we could do on breaks. Imagine you must get very bored around her, with nothing to do.”

“I have things to do.” Yang defended. Who was she kidding, Blake was right. There was nothing of interest here, she had spent these past two years brooding and waiting for someone to enter the manor. And now that Blake was here, she just had her brooding left. Not a past time she was particularly fond of. “Anyways, I don't really know what kind of books I would like. I didn't read that much before... this.”

“Well that's ok. I have been known to have excellent tastes when it comes to literature.” Blake replied with a small smile. “Here how about this one. I was reading it on my own, but I wouldn't mind starting over. It's called the Count of Monte Cristo.”

“You mean the one that you've been reading since you came here?” Yang asked, looking at the book Blake had extended out to her. She noticed the book on Blake's bed whenever she retrieved her each day. There was a little ribbon in the pages that seemed to move further in the book each time she saw it. 

“You... noticed that?”

“I mean, yeah. You read it everyday before studying. You really don't get sick of reading, do you?”

“Not really,” Blake laughed. Another full smile that warmed Yang more than her fire. “But this book is very intriguing. It's about this man who had all these great things in is life. But his friends, who really weren't very good friends at all, betrayed him and-”

“I don't think I would like that one.” Yang cut her off. She had had enough betrayal in her life, she didn't need to hear a story about it.

“Really? Because I think you would like it. You see, the Count of Monte Cristo is actually-”

“NO!” Yang shouted, feeling a change in her eyes again. Blake stopped mid sentence and shrunk back. “I'm sorry, I just... I don't like stories like that... not anymore.” Yang looked down, ashamed of her outburst. But she knew that the book would just remind her of Cinder and the others. Their cruel words and fake friendship. 

“Alright... Then how about a love story?”

“A love story?” Yang asked. “You read romance novels?”

“Yes.” Blake said, blushing slightly. “Who doesn't love a good love story?”

Yang had to be honest, love had not been on her list of priorities for a while now. She had given up on the prospect of it when she started to change. But the idea of hearing a love story intrigued her. There was nothing better to do anyways, and the sound of Blake's voice was actually rather soothing to her. 

“Sure, I guess that would be nice.” Yang said. 

“Ok, let me see what I can find.” Blake said, walking over to the shelves. After a moment of 'hmm'ing and looking over the shelves of books, Blake's eyes finally lit up. She pulled out a book and brought it over to Yang, shoving it in her hands.

“Muh.... muh.... Maaah...” Yang sounded out.

“Masked.” Blake finished. “It's a story of two heroes who are in love with each other and don't realize it.”

“What do you mean they don't realize it.”

“You'll just have to wait and find out.”

**XxXxX**

Over the course of the next few days, Blake would read to Yang on their breaks. The beast didn't seem too interested in the story at first, but Blake soon saw a spark of intrigue flash in her eyes. Soon, Yang was stopping her to react to things that happened in the story, asking questions and theorizing about what would happen next. 

“'... still as the water on a frigid winter night.'” Blake said dramatically, finishing the chapter. Yang was gripping the arm of the soft chair she had perched on, her eyes were slightly watery. 

“What? No, no she couldn't... No, she'll be ok, right?”

“You'll have to wait and see.”

“But... But one more chapter? Please?” The beast pleaded, gripping the chair tighter, so tight her claws started tearing into it and ripping it up. 

“You said that a chapter ago! And I read the next one for you.”

“Yeah but I didn't know it was gonna be a worse cliffhanger!”

“A deal is a deal, Yang. I have to study more.”

“Noooooo.” Yang lamented burying her snout in her claws. “You monster.”

“Oh how the tables have turned.” Blake said, laughing. Yang peered up at her and squinted.

“Touche, Belladonna, touche.” Yang said. Blake laughed even harder at that. It seemed that the more she got to know Yang, the more she was able to talk about these subjects that used to be touchy. They both threw little jabs at each other and were able to handle them in stride. “But... She'll be ok, right?”

“You know, I always had a thing for tragic romances...” Blake teased. She looked over to Yang and imagined that if she had skin, all the color would have drained from it.

“You're kidding right?”

“Am I?”

“Blaaaaake. You can't do this to me!” Yang whined, pressing her claws against the side of her own skull. 

“I'll finish the book tomorrow morning, alright? Before we start studying.” 

“Alright.”

This seemed to satiate the beast for a while. She did interrupt her studying from time to time to ask about something she had theorized about, but not too often. After they were done, Yang walked her back to her room and bid her good night. Blake did not go to sleep right away though. She too had gotten to a very interesting part in her own book and wanted to see if she could finish it off. They were just about to reveal what really happened to Valentine when Blake heard some strange noises. She brushed them off at first, too immersed in the plot of her book. 

But then the noises grew louder. 

It was crying. No, not crying, screaming. She heard screams of pain that chilled her to her core. The screams evolved into painful roars. Whatever was happening, it was apparently only getting worse. Blake closed her book, hopped off of the bed and slipped on some slippers that Yang had given her. Her hand was poised to open the door. 

“It's fine, Blake. Go back to bed.” She heard a familiar voice say from behind her. Turning around, Weiss stood in her mirror. She was trying to keep a calm demeanor, but Blake could see the worry cracking through.

“What's going on?” Blake asked the mirror woman.

“Nothing you need to worry about, everything will be ok.” She assured her. “Go back to bed.”

“But-”

“It's fine. Just try to sleep. It will be over soon.”

Blake wanted to ignore the ivory-haired girl and find out what was going on for herself, but then the screaming died down. It grew softer and softer until only the sound of soft sobs filled the air.

“See, I told you everything would be alright.”

“Ok.” Blake said skeptically. Someone was still crying after all. Weiss left her after that. The raven haired girl sat on the edge of her bed, unsure of what she should do. She supposed that there was no point in checking out what happened when everything was over. And she really couldn't focus on her book anymore with everything that had just happened. The only option she had was to try and sleep.

It did not come easily with the memory of those screams in her mind.

**XxXxX**

The next morning, when Yang came to get Blake, she did not look good at all. The beast had clearly gotten no sleep, her eyes were half-lidded and drooping. Almost as if she could fall asleep standing up. She also seemed a little more shaky then the other day and... taller? 

On top of that, her arms were killing her. Weiss constantly chided her, telling her not to do what she had done and Yang knew she was right. But it was the only thing that made her forget the pain a little, even if she had to pay for it the next day. 

“Good morning, Blake.” She said softly, hardly any strength of conviction to her words. “Did you sleep well?”

“Did you? You don't look so good.”

“Have you seen me? I never look good.” Yang joked, but unlike the other times, her face fell right after telling her joke.

“Yang, last night I-”

“We should probably get studying.”

“But-”

“Look!” Yang said, her temper flaring up again. But this time, she controlled it much easier then before. “I appreciate the concern, but I really don't want to talk about it.”

The rest of their walk was silent, heading directly to the library. Yang took her seat in the chair and closed her eyes. Blake reached for the text book she was currently studying, but her hand froze. She then hovered it over to the other, thinner book that they had been reading.

“Are you ready?” Blake asked. 

Yang popped an eye open and raised one eyebrow. 

“Ready for what?”

“The stunning conclusion.” Blake said, lifting the book up for the beast to see. Yang opened both of her eyes and a smile started to form on her snout. “A deal is a deal, after all.”

“Are you kidding me? I've been waiting all night for this.” Yang told her.

**XxXxX**

“That was beautiful.” Yang hummed. She propped up her massive jaw with her scale claws, looking dreamily in the distance. Blake closed the book and gave one of her (now common) half smiles. She had just finished the book and was happy to find out that there was in fact, a happy ending for the two of them. “I told you they would be ok.”

"You were right.” Blake said, but soon gave Yang a mischievous smirk. “But there is a second book to this. You never know what could happen.”

“There's a second one!” Yang exclaimed, popping up from her chair. “Oh! Can we read it now?”

“Hold your horses. We just finished this one, let it soak in for a bit.”

Yang moaned. She didn't want to wait, she wanted to read it now! Not like she had much of a choice though, Blake was the only one who could read well in the manor. She thought that Weiss might have been able to, but because of the curse, all the letters had become backwards. She could read it, but it took more concentration. And besides, there was something about listening to the raven-haired girl's voice that made her feel... better.

“Wow, I... I guess I understand why Ruby loved books so much.”

“Hmm?”

“Ruby used to read a lot, probably not as much as you, but quite a bit. I never understood before. They take you away, bring you to a whole new world where anything is possible. Where anyone can be loved... Even me...” Yang trailed off. She tensed up, not daring to look at the girl. She hadn't meant to give so much away like that. Blake may have been kind to her recently, but she never knew when that would change. She could betray her at any point, why was she being so vulnerable.

“I understand what you mean.” Yang heard Blake say after a few moments of silence.

“What?” Yang asked, finally looking at the girl.

“Books have always been an escape for me. I've... never really had any friends before, never really grew close to anyone but my papa.” She said with a sad smile. “But whenever I read, I felt like... Like I could do anything. Like I could be anything I wanted. Like I had friends.”

“You? You don't have any friends?”

“Not till now.”

“Now?”

“Well... We're sort of friends now, aren't we?”

Yang's mind set to overdrive. So much of her wanted to say no. To tell her that they could never be friends. She had people she thought were friends, and they stabbed her in the back. She had told herself that henceforth she would no longer have any more 'friends'. She couldn't deal with the heart ache again.

But her other side was the one that answered for her.

“Yeah, I guess we are.” Yang found herself saying. Blake was different from the others. She was kind to everyone. Even the beast who tried to lock up her father. She helped her cook and read her books. She may have been bitter at first (understandably so), but something changed. And if Yang was being honest, her smile was the brightest thing she had seen in two years. It made her feel special. She didn't deserve Blake as a friend, but maybe she needed her. After all, it was her unkind acts that got her into this mess. Maybe she would have a good influence on her.

**XxXxX**

Blake and Yang had been completely unaware of the other presence in the room. Weiss had appeared in one of the smaller, more discrete mirrors. She was about to ask how their progress was going, but saw that they were having a serious and semi-intimate conversation. So she did what any good guard would do and kept her mouth shut... and listened in on the whole conversation. 

She was a bit shocked at this turn of events. It was somewhat of a surprise to hear that the bookworm wasn't really close to anyone and even more of a shock to hear her call Yang her friend. She supposed that they must have grown closer when they read that book together. And she was honestly happy to see Yang actually enjoying herself rather than lamenting upon her past mistake. 

And Yang had agreed with Blake, calling her a friend as well. That was the most shocking part of all. After the whole fiasco with Cinder and her cronies, Yang had locked her heart away. She was more hopeless and cared less and less what happened to her or what she did on a day to day basis. The only thing that seemed to keep her eating, sleeping and taking care of herself was Weiss and Ruby. Not them voicing their concerns, but her drive to restore them to their previous forms. 

But now, Yang seemed a little brighter. She walked with more of a bounce, she smiled more (which could be a bit awkward considering her form) and seemed more eager to start her days. Well, this day was an exception, but that was because of her changes last night. 

They have been getting worse...

Weiss wondered if it was the fact that Blake was helping with the curse that caused this change in Yang's demeanor. No, that wasn't all it was. Weiss couldn't quite place her finger on it, but there was something about Blake specifically that made Yang happier in the past couple days. 

Weiss moved to the mirror in the rose room to check on Ruby and update her on what has been happening. 

“Hello Ruby. I hope you are doing well today.” The guard said to the rose. No response, as usual. “I miss you.” 

Weiss looked away from the rose. She didn't know why she always started so formal when speaking to her. She knew that would break for her, it always did.

“Some interesting things have been happening. Blake, the girl trying to help us, has been reading to Yang. They've been getting along better. Much better in fact. It's a bit strange.” Weiss said. “Yang has been happier, thought you'd be glad to hear that. I think it has something to do with Blake.”

Then, very familiar red wisps started to form. Weiss' eyes widened as she saw Ruby start to take shape in her wispy red vapor. 

“Ruby? What is it?” Weiss asked quickly. She knew that she wouldn't try and form unless it was really important. Ruby was still forming when she asked her, so she patiently waited for her until she was ready.

“She likes her.” Ruby said, an adorable smile plastered on her ghost-like form.

“What?” Weiss asked. She formed for this? “As much as I lov- enjoy seeing you, was it really necessary to tell me this?”

“Yes, absolutely!” Ruby exclaimed. “I want Yang to be happy, Weiss. She kicks herself so much for what happened, she has more than made up for what she has done.”

“If that were so, wouldn't the curse be broken?”

“Yeah, I guess.” Ruby said, the wisps that appeared to be her eyes looked down. “Still, she deserves something good after all this time.”

“I suppose you're right.” 

“Good, then you'll help them get together?”

“What?”

“Come ooon Weeeeeiss. Just a little push here and there.”

“Ruby, Yang locked up her father.”

“Yes.”

“And is keeping her here.”

“Yes.”

“And you think they could fall for each other after that?”

“Yes.” Ruby giggled. Weiss thought she would melt in her mirror after hearing that laugh. It had been so long since she last heard it. “I mean, we didn't exactly have the best first meeting either.”

Weiss put her hand on her face, remembering the meeting. It involved Ruby running up to Weiss to ask if she wanted to play dolls and Weiss acting on instincts and drawing her sword. It ended with Ruby crying because Weiss sliced her doll in half. 

“Hey, I apologized for that.” Weiss defended.

“And so has Yang. Trust me on this one, Weiss.”

“Alright, but I'm blaming you if this goes array.”

“Fiiine.” Ruby said. Her wisps started to dissipate before Weiss' eyes. “I guess times up. I'll try and talk with you later, Weiss.”

“Don't push yourself.”

“I'll be fine. I... I miss you too.” Ruby said. She may have been smiling, but her eyes told a sad story. And then she was gone, the glow returned to the rose alone. Weiss sighed and moved to another mirror, any mirror but this one. 

She didn't want Ruby to hear her cry.   


	6. Acts of Kindness

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This unlikely pair have been growing closer together, helping each other along. But there are still some things unsaid. Perhaps a couple acts of kindness would be enough to coax it out...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey, y'all. Blue here! Another chapter for you guys. There is a slight reference to self harm at the end. It isn't anything graphic, but I thought I should warn you guys just in case. I hope you like this chapter! Enjoy the Bees!

The days didn't seem as long as they used to to Blake. In fact, she felt she didn't have enough time in the day. She didn't make much headway in understanding the curse, but she did make headway in understanding Yang. She found that the beast could actually be rather cute at times, not a word she would have ever associated with her before she started reading to her. Once they had finished the second book, they moved on to others. Nothing too long, but some short mysteries, science fiction, fantasy books. She even read her some horror novels (Strange to see an intimidating beast such as Yang quivering in fear). The dragon was actually very emotional. She seemed to be very empathetic to the characters. Of all the genres they read, romance seemed to be Yang's favorite after all.

“The end.” Blake said, closing the book with a smile. She hugged it tight. She had just finished reading one of her favorite romance novels to Yang. She looked up to Yang when she heard a soft sniffling. “Are you alright?”

“Yes.”

“Are you crying?” Blake teased, clearly seeing the tears running down her scaled face.

“No!” She lied, wiping them away with her claws. “It's just so beautiful. And I...”

“You?”

“I wish that, maybe someday, I could find love like that.” Yang said with a hopeful smile, but it dropped, as did her shoulders. “But that could never be.”

“Yang, you don't know that.”

“Blake look at me. I'm hideous.”

“Don't say that.”

“It's true, I'm a monster. When people see me, they either run or grab something to throw at me.”

“But they don't know you.” Blake said. She rose from her chair and knelt down beside Yang. “You did seem scary and angry when I first met you, but I know that was just because... Well, you were scared.”

“I'm still scared.” Yang muttered. “What if I can't fix this? What if we can't fix this?”

“We will, Yang.” Blake said. She grabbed her scaled claw and gave a tight squeeze. Yang froze at the contact and stared at Blake's hand as if it was some foreign object. “Oh, I'm sorry, I-”

“No, it's nice... I just... haven't had contact like this in a long time.” Yang said, putting her other claw gently over top of Blake's. She smiled so warmly at the raven-haired girl that, for once, it reached her lilac orbs. Blake felt her self heat up under her gaze and could not maintain eye contact for much longer. “Are you ok?”

“Yeah, I'm f-fine, just fine.” Blake said. “Why don't we look for another book to read, ok?”

“Sounds good!” Yang said, bouncing back to the jolly demeanor she had taken on lately. Blake felt good about this, she felt like she was making a difference. She was happy to see the beast no longer brooding in the corner while she studied. She did recall getting more studying done back then, but that hardly mattered to her right now. Reading to Yang had slowly become the highlight of her days. It was like reading the book for the first time again. 

Something had been bothering her for some time, though. She had noticed that Yang had a habit of being very self deprecating. It seemed that she truly hated everything about herself, and it was hard for Blake to see. She had never had a friend before but she felt that, as her friend, she should try and help her curb this. Or at the very least understand why.

“Yang, can I ask you a question?” Blake said, skimming some titles on one shelf.

“Sure, what's up?”

“You always seemed so ashamed of how you look, of what you are.”

“I... I am.” Yang answered softly. Blake didn't want to press on more, but knew that she would have to. It was too late to back out now.

“Why is that?”

“What... I... I'm a monster. Who wouldn't be ashamed of this?”

“But, haven't you been like this for a while?”

“Yes, two years.”

“What were you before this?” Blake asked. She received no answer. When she looked back, she saw Yang looking down at the marble floor of the library. “Yang?”

“I don't want to talk about it. It doesn't matter.”

“But-”

“I don't want to talk about it!” Yang yelled, her eyes became crimson again and she heard a monstrous growl come from her after. The dragon then shook her head and looked back at Blake with worry. “Y-you should probably get back to studying. I need to take care of some things.”

“Yang, wait!” Blake called, but Yang kept walking. 

Why did she have to be so curious? After all, curiosity killed the cat. 

**XxXxX**

Weiss had been discretely listening in on their conversation once again, this time upon Ruby's request. She luckily didn't really have to intervene to push them closer together, they did that on their own. But then Blake had asked her about her form. She knew the conversation would end with Yang storming off, but she couldn't do anything about it. Even if she did alert them to her presence. 

She actually thought that that would have made things worse. 

“How can I help her if she won't let me in.” Blake asked out loud with a large sigh. She resumed her previous task of finding a new book. That was until Weiss moved over to the large mirror.

“Tell me about it. The oaf is simply too stubborn for her own good.” Weiss said. Blake jumped at her sudden presence, always forgetting how easy it is for her to jump from place to place. 

“Weiss!” Blake said. “You were here the whole time?” 

Busted.

“Well, yes. But I had a good reason.”

“And what would that be?”

“I... can't tell you.”

“Why?”

“I am under orders not to.”

“From Yang?”   


“No, from Ruby actually.”

“Ruby?” Blake asked, her interest visibly peaked. “She manifested? Isn't that kind of a big deal?”

“Yes it is.”

“So what did she say?”

“That is between me and Ruby.”

“Oooh, I understand.” Blake said with a coy look on her face.

“Understand what?” Weiss asked. She felt a blush slowly creep on her face as she read into Blake's implications. “No... It wasn't- I didn't- It wasn't like that!”

“Uh huh, sure Weiss.”

“No! Really!”

“What ever you saaay.” Blake sang, giggling. 

Oh this girl was something, alright. 

A pain in her butt. 

“I'm just messing with you Weiss. I'm used to you all keeping everything from me, so it's fine.”

“I'm sorry for that. This is all very difficult to talk about, especially for Yang. I can't imagine what she is going through.”

“What happened? Why does she hate herself? What did she do?” Blake asked.

“You'll have to wait for her to open up about that. I promised that I wouldn't say.” Weiss told her.

“What if she never tells me?”

“She will.” Weiss said. “She has already opened up to you so much more than you know.”

“Alright.” Blake said.

“Just give her some time. She'll come around.”

Weiss left Blake to her studies and tried to find Yang. She was in the rose room, sitting backwards on one of the larger more sturdy chairs. 

“Brooding again, are we? Haven't seen that in a while.”

“Shut up.”

“And the temper is back as well. Here I thought you were making strides.”

“Just go away, Weiss.”

“No, not until you tell me what is bothering you.”

“Why? You were in the room, you know what happened.”

“I-”

“Come on Weiss, I can tell when you are in a mirror at this point.” Yang explained.

“Alright, why did it bother you so much?”

Yang huffed and rested her jaw on her arms.

“What if I tell her who I used to be, what I used to be, and she realizes what a terrible person I am. The curse shows our true nature. What will she say when she learns that I am a monster, through and through.”

“But you aren't anymore, Yang.”

“Then why am I still like this?”

“I don't know.” Weiss answered truthfully. “Why does it matter what she thinks of you?”

Yang was silent, avoiding looking at the mirror. It was at that point that Weiss realized that Ruby was right.

“You like her.” 

“I... I think I do.” Yang said, a sad smile spreading on her draconic facial features. Then it faded to one of despair. “But she'll never feel the same.”

“You don't know that.”

“I do, Weiss. Besides, she deserves so much better then this.”

**XxXxX**

This was very strange for Yang. After admitting her feelings for Blake, she started to feel very nervous around the girl. Her heart beat faster, every little touch made her feel warmer, and she found herself staring at the raven-haired girl more often. Was this what it felt like to like someone? She had been the object of others affections in the past, but had never really felt the same towards anyone. Then again, she had never really truly gotten to know any of her suitors. She was so vain, only deeming someone worth her time if they were beautiful. 

She was such a fool.

Blake was nothing like them. Sure she was beautiful, there was no doubt about that. Her piercing amber eyes struck her heart every time they made eye-contact. But that wasn't what she liked about Blake. She was so kind and intelligent. She enjoyed seeing her gush over her favorite books and listening to her talk about things that her father and her used to do. She was a truly beautiful person, inside and out. 

And Yang was certain that she didn't deserve someone like that. 

She couldn't help herself from dreaming though. Blake showed her more physical contact after touching her claw that one time. In those small touches, she felt cared for. She could even fool herself into thinking that she was loved. She wanted to show Blake how much she really meant to her. Weiss suggested giving her a gift. But what sort of gift could she give her here? She couldn't find anything in the manor that Blake would really enjoy. 

Then, while looking out the balcony of the rose room, she had an idea. Something inspired by her sister, when this whole mess had started. So Yang made sure to wake up extra early and search outside for the prettiest flower she could find. When that was done, she would leave it in Blake's studying chair to surprise her when she arrived.

No, that wouldn't do. A single flower would be cute, but Yang didn't want to just be cute. She wanted Blake to feel as special as she was. So she decided to do something on a little larger scale.

“You seem very excited this morning.” Blake commented with a wry grin. 

“I guess so. We are starting a new novel, aren't we?” Yang said, practically bounding down the hall.

“True, this one is a good one.”

“You said that about all of them!” Yang accused with a laugh.

“Well they were all good weren't they?”

“They were.” Yang agreed. “But sometimes real life can be better.”

“That's pretty optimistic coming from you.”

“Hey, I used to be very optimistic, you know. A real ball of sunshine.”

“I'm glad I get to see this ball of sunshine.” Blake told her, softly stroking her arm. Yang lost her ability to speak for a second, fixating on both her touch and her words. 

“A-alright, why d-don't you go inside?” stammered the flustered dragon. Blake opened the doors as she normally did, but stopped the second she stepped foot inside. 

“Wow!” She breathed. “Yang, did you do this?” 

She had covered the whole library with purple flowers (the color made Blake's eyes pop). She weaved them around the desk, in front of the shelves, on the chair. The floor, the walls, she even managed to string a few on the ceiling, with the help of her... new beast features. The pain seemed worth it in this moment, even if her back killed her.

“Yeah, do you like it?” Yang asked, rubbing the back of her mane. She felt the figure next to her crash into her, wrapping her arms around her the best that she could. Blake was hugging her. 

Blake.

Was hugging.

Her.

“I love it, Yang. Thank you.”

Yang was fairly certain that her mind just broke in that instant. She could not process what had just happened. All she knew was that Blake was hugging her, and in that moment, that was all that mattered. Not the curse, not the years of solitude, not even her own hideous body. In this moment, she felt human again, she felt like she was just another girl. 

A girl who had a shot with Blake.

**XxXxX**

If someone told Blake three months ago, that she would be living in an abandoned mansion with a beast, she would have told them that they were crazy. If someone told her that that same beast was actually kind and sweet, she would have told a doctor to lock them up. Yet here she was, in a room filled with various purple flowers that a beast brought in. 

That her only friend brought her. 

Maybe not her only friend. She hoped that Weiss and her were friends as well, but there was something different about Yang. Maybe it was the fact that she was tangible that made it easier to connect with her? No, there was something more to it. Oddly enough, the more she got to know Yang, the more approachable she felt. She was warm, physically and figuratively. She might ask to sit closer to the beast when the weather got colder. That would probably happen soon, fall was starting to wrap up and her father's cloak might not be enough to keep her warm through the winter. She was honestly impressed that Yang was able to find all of these flowers around this time of year. She must have looked for hours for all of these. And only purple ones too, her favorite color. 

Their day followed much like the rest of them did. Studying, reading, cooking, and then bidding each other a good night at the end of the day. But something was different that night. Something happened that had happened a couple nights now, each time waking Blake from her slumber.

The screaming. 

Every time this would occur Weiss would arrive and reassure her that everything would be alright. And Blake would accept this and go back to sleep once the painful howls died down.

This night was worse, much worse. 

Most of the time, it would begin with small whimpers and rise up to the screams. On that night, it started with the screams, and only seemed to grow louder. Filled with so much pain. 

“Everything is alright, no need to panic.” Weiss appeared as if on cue. Blake didn't care what she had to say though, she was going to see what was the problem. “Wait, I said everything was ok!”

“No, it's clearly not! I'm going to see what is going on.” Blake huffed, exiting her room. Weiss followed her, trying to dissuade her from venturing onward. It was a futile effort though, when Blake was curious, nothing could stop her.

It didn't take her long to discover where the screaming was coming from. In the master bedroom of the estate, Yang was on her hands and knees, gripping the floor tightly. She was no longer wearing her tattered white shirt, it was crumpled in a ball by the bed. On her back, Blake saw two wing-like appendages starting to form. In the process of forming, in fact. They were extending out as Yang continued to howl, shaking from pain. Was that what was causing her pain? 

Blake didn't quite know what to do, she just stood there watching as her friend writhed in pain. She gripped her cloak tighter for comfort, hoping that this was merely a dream. 

She knew it was not. 

Then, Yang was finally aware of her presence, her lilac orbs darted to her and she saw a brief flash of fear cross them before she shut them again. Another wave of pain hit her and she was screaming even louder now. Blake didn't want her to be afraid, she wanted to comfort her. So, finally seeing what she had to do, she ran over to her and held her muzzle in her hands, similar to what she would do to calm down Gambol. She pressed her forehead against hers and stroked from the start of her snout to her nostrils. 

“Hey, it's ok. It's gonna be alright.” Blake hummed in the most soothing voice she could manage in the moment. Yang stopped screaming, but moaned loudly in agony. Blake could now see the tears rolling down her face. She removed the hand that held the bottom of Yang's jaw and wiped away the tears, lingering a bit to cup her face in a comforting gesture. Yang continued to cry out, but Blake's gestures seemed to ease her pain a little. 

“I-it... hurts... It hurts.” Was all Yang was able to say before she started groaning again. Yang's claws shifted from the ground to her arms. Blake witnessed the beast start to dig into her own flesh, drawing blood which oozed down her claws onto her bronze scales like a sick syrup.

“Y-yang stop! You'll hurt yourself even more!” Blake chided. Yang looked up at her, pain radiating in her lilac orbs.

“It m-makes... i-it hurt l-less.” She said in a strained voice. Blake brought her hands up to Yang's claws and gently pried them away from her arms. The beast didn't have the strength to fight Blake on this, she complied, gripping the floor once more. 

“Please don't do that.” Blake begged, holding her snout once more. Yang looked at her shamefully and nodded once before whimpering from the pain once again. 

The raven-haired girl tried to think of some other way she could comfort the beast. She thought to the things that she personally took comfort in. Books? No, she didn't have anything on hand and Yang wouldn't be able to pay attention with this much pain anyways. Exploring was also obviously out of the question. 

Then, Blake found her hand reaching towards the clasp on her father's cloak. Without another thought, she took it off and wrapped it around Yang instead. Yang opened her eyes to see what was now around her back. She soon realized what it was, and gave Blake a look that said 'are you sure?'. Blake's mouth curled up into a sympathetic smile, and then she nodded and resumed her previous motions, trying to help Yang through whatever was happening to her. She kept doing this, even after Yang had stopped crying. 

Blake  lifted her head for a moment and then saw that the dragon had fallen asleep on her. She tried to move the large beast to get her to her bed, but soon found the task to be futile. She got up and grabbed a couple pillows to help Yang feel a little more comfortable on the ground. She was about to leave when a claw lightly gripped her sleeve. Yang tugged on it once in her sleep, urging her to stay. 

She was tired anyways and wasn't looking forward to the trek back to her own room. So with her mind made up, she grabbed some more pillows and blankets and laid down beside Yang. The beast looked  peaceful sleeping like this, she was grateful that she no longer had a pained expression. Unfortunately, the floor was rather cold. So she snuggled a little closer to the dragon, making use of her extra heat.

Maybe it wasn't just the body heat that warmed her up that night.


	7. Changing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a rough night, Blake and Yang decide to take a break. A well needed rest. But while our heroes rest, devious plots lie ahead...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, Blue here. A light little chapter here, fluffy, cute and a little short. Thanks for all your feedback on the last chapter, glad to see you guys like it. Hope you like this one as well! Enjoy the bees!

Adam slammed the door of the Belladonna household behind him. He stomped towards the map pinned to the wall, took the pen nearby and roughly squiggled out a path. The map was basically all ink at this point, they had covered every possible inch of the forest and found nothing.

“Are you sure it was in the woods?” Adam growled in frustration. “Or has your brain finally addled from age, old man.”

When the man didn't respond to his question, he whipped around to lash out at him again. But he stopped himself when he saw the man looking down at something in his hands. It was a book, The Count of Monte Cristo. Fat tears silently fell down his cheeks, his face devoid of any hope.

“She never got to finish this one.” He said. His voice sounded hoarse and pathetic. 

“She'll be able to read it once I find that beast and slay it.” Adam huffed.

“We can't find her, Adam. She's gone, disappeared. I lost her too, just like Kali.” Ghira moaned. The large man started to sob at his revelation. 

“The only thing you might have lost is your marbles. She couldn't have just disappeared.”

“SHE'S GONE, ADAM!” Ghira yelled through pain filled tears. 

Adam took a step back from the grieving man. There was no use in talking to him in this state, he was just an irrational mess. There was no way Adam would believe that Blake was just gone, not after all the work he put into teaching himself, hunting and looking for her. He was too stubborn and determined. Perhaps there was no beast, and the old man was simply making it up to cope with the fact that Blake ran off. But she left so much here. So that meant that she had to come back some time.

“Look old man, I'm not going to make anymore trips to the forest. There's obviously no manor. When Blake does decide to come and visit, you let me know.”

“Get out.” The man said in a low tone, barely audible at all.

“Excuse me?”

“Get out of my house. You don't care about us at all, do you? Only your own selfish goals. So get out, get out of my house and GO TO HELL!” He said, getting progressively louder with each sentence. He rose from his chair and towered over the young hunter. 

“Fine. You're welcome, sir!” He spat back with venom. He stomped out of the room much like how he entered. 

“Didn't go so well?” An amused voice asked outside. Roman stood just to the side of the door, twirling his cane. 

“An understatement.” Adam said pinching the bridge of his nose. “I think I'm gonna have to call in a favor, Roman.”

“What is this, eight now?” 

“Nine.”

“Honest fella, aren'tcha.”

“From time to time.”

“What do you need?”

“Ghira won't let me come anywhere near the house after that, but I need to know when Blake is back.”

“So you want me to scope the place out and see when your girl is back.”

“Yes.”

“I can manage that.” Roman said with a sly grin.

**XxXxX**

Yang's eyes slowly flitted open as the light cast down on her. She felt sore all over, which made sense after last night. Her body was changing again, this time it was wings. They had not fully emerged, but Yang had a feeling they would when it was too late. It was growing closer and closer to the deadline anyways. 

“Mmmph,” Yang heard a soft voice hum. She stiffened, suddenly remembering another detail of the previous night. Blake. She had come in while she was changing. The girl had held Yang and tried to assist her through the ordeal. Yang thought she had made it all up, but here she was. Snuggled up against Yang's bare chest. She might not have the same anatomy as she used to, but Yang felt very awkward having her against her like this. At the same time, she savored the contact and the view of the sleeping girl.

Surprisingly, Blake looked fairly comfortable, even if she was sleeping on a floor that was undoubtedly cold. She stirred in her sleep a little and buried her head further into Yang's chest. 

“Oh gosh.” Yang voiced. How did this girl manage to make her feel so flustered and warm all the time. She was a dragon, A DRAGON! 

The beast had the urge to show the girl some affection. Something light and sweet, but she looked at her claws and doubted that anything she did would be light or sweet. So carefully, very carefully, she ran her claw through her untied ebony locks (it was so soft, she could have cried). She hadn't seen her with her hair down before. She had such long beautiful hair, Yang didn't understand why she chose to keep it in that low ponytail. Yang never did with her long, wild, vibrant mane. But now it was really just long and wild. Couldn't hold a candle to her former glory. 

“Hmm?” Blake hummed again, this time gaining consciousness. She adorably blinked a couple times and looked up to Yang. For a moment, Yang was afraid she would realize who she was cuddling up to and jump back. Instead, she smiled. She smiled up at Yang and the dragon felt her heart leap into her throat.

“Good morning. Are you feeling better?” She asked, voice still laden with sleep.

“A-a little sore, b-but much b-better. Thanks.” Yang answered. 

“Good, I was worried.” Blake said. She yawned and shifted a bit, but made no attempt to move away from Yang. “So all those other times, that was you?”

“Yes.”

“You transform at night?”

“Not every night.”

“You're growing wings.”

“I guess so.”

“It's not your choice.”

“No, it's not.”

“Is this the curse?”

“Yes.”

“As much as I like twenty questions, Yang, I need some answers. As... as your friend.”

Yang sighed. She really didn't want to tell her, but after what she saw, she deserved an explanation.

“I was... We all were cursed by an enchantress. It reveals what we really are on the inside. Ruby was beautiful, Weiss saw everything and I... I was a monster. It turned me as ugly as I was on the inside.”

“You don't seem that ugly, Yang.”

“You didn't know me before. I was awful, I can see that now. I just wish the enchantress could see how much I've changed.” Yang said. “It's a slow process too. I am cursed to slowly turn more and more beast like and ultimately... Lose my humanity.”

“Your humanity?” Blake asked.

“Yes.”

“So... You used to be...” Blake asked, not wanting to finish the phrase.

“Yes. I was.”

“Oh, I see.”

“That's... why I'm so ashamed. Because this,” Yang said, gesturing down her body. “Is what I really am. I've always been a monster, she just revealed it to the world.”

“No, Yang. You're not.”

“How can you say that, Blake? After I took your father captive! After I forced you to help me! I'm nothing but a monster! I'm a selfish monster that doesn't deserve people like Ruby, Weiss or you.” Yang yelled, feeling tears well up in her eyes. “I don't deserve this kindness. I am nothing but a beast.”

“Yang! You are not a monster. You've just made some bad decisions, and that doesn't make someone bad. That just makes you... Well... Human.” Blake told her. “A monster wouldn't be doing all this for Ruby and Weiss. A monster wouldn't fill a room with flowers, just to make someone smile. And a monster certainly wouldn't feel bad about their past misdeeds.”

“Y-you really think that?” Yang asked, afraid that she may tell her contrary.

“Of course I do. I've gotten to know you, Yang. And there is so much good in you. I can see it.” Blake told her, placing a hand right over Yang's heart. “I think you are beautiful, inside and out.”

That got Yang. She started sobbing and pulled Blake closer to her in a gentle hug. Blake wrapped her arm around Yang the best she could to reciprocate the embrace.  

“Thank you.”

**XxXxX**

“A day off?” Yang asked, slipping her ripped up shirt on. 

“I think we both deserve one, don't you think?” Blake said. After Yang had stopped crying and after Blake helped bandage the self-inflicted wounds on Yang's arms, Blake suggested they take the day and just relax. No textbooks (A shocker, considering who said it), no curses, just a relaxing day where they could do whatever they felt like doing.

“I don't know.” Yang said. She combed through her mane like she did whenever she was unsure. It was a nervous habit that Blake had learned to read. 

“Yang, you must be exhausted from yesterday. First, you got up early to find all those flowers. And then last night happened.” Blake pointed out. “Let's just relax today. Take it easy.”

It was strange to hear herself say these words. Ever since she got here, she had been so focused on trying to break the curse so she could leave. But now, she was more concerned for Yang. It's not like one day would set them back so much.

“Ok, what do you want to do?”

“Hmm.” Blake said. “How about we go for a walk. Outside, around the manor?”

“Sounds great.” Yang replied with a large grin. She reached behind her and grabbed the cloak Blake lent her last night. “Here, this is yours.”

“You... You can hold onto it.” Blake told her. She didn't really need comfort right now, Yang did. Ironically, right now, Yang was her comfort. She couldn't explain how, she couldn't explain why. She just was. 

“O-ok, thank you Blake.” Yang said, fastening the cloak to her back. It actually looked good on her. Yang then offered her right elbow to Blake. “Will you accompany me on this walk, Miss Belladonna?”

“Why certainly, Miss... Um.” Blake stammered. She was totally blanking, did she ever learn Yang's last name?

“Xiao Long.” Yang informed. 

“But isn't your sister's last name Rose?”

“We have different mothers. She took her mother's surname, while I took my father's.”

“Do your parents... know about this?” She gestured around them. 

“They disappeared long before this, but I imagine my uncle has no idea what has happened to us.”

“Oh, you were the people who lived here before. The rumors said that...” Blake trailed off, not wanting to tell Yang the stories people made up about her. 

“Rumors? What did they say?”

“They said that... A beast slaughtered the people who lived here first.”

“Of course they did.” Yang said in an unamused tone.

“They don't know any better.”

“Yeah well, they don't take kindly to any sort of differences. No matter how small.”

“Did something happen before?” Asked the raven-haired girl, knowing there was more to her words.

“The process was slow at first. A tail, some sharp teeth, claws, and the horns. They could all be disguised, so I would go out from time to time. One time I tried to find some people I thought were my friends. I begged for their help. And when they saw me, saw my face... they laughed. They told me that they could never be friends with a monster.”

“Yang, I'm sorry.” Blake told the beast. It made sense why she didn't want to read the Count of Monte Cristo, she had suffered enough betrayal. 

“It's in the past now.” Yang told her. “And besides, I have a real friend now, right?”

“You do.” Blake confirmed. 

“So.” Yang said, clapping her claws together. “How about that walk?”

“Let's go.”

After running to grab a coat, the pair made their way down to the main entrance, where Yang flung the doors open. They were greeted by an unexpected, but not unwelcome sight.

“Snow!” Yang shouted, bouncing in excitement. “Come on, let's go! Let's go!”

There was a thin layer of snow accumulated on the ground. Slow graceful snowflakes flitted and fluttered, falling to the earth in a rather elegant manner. It was an entirely serene scene. Until Yang bounded down into the courtyard, the cloak she wore waving behind her. She spun around and tried to catch some snowflakes on her large tongue (it was not a difficult feat). So preoccupied with this snowy surprise, she didn't even see a snowy surprise that came from Blake. A snowball landed on the right side of her snout. 

“Did... did you just-” Yang started, but Blake stopped her with another snowball to the chest. “Oh it is so on!” Yang called out. Blake took cover behind one of the trees, but peered out to see what she was planning. The dragon was pulling in as much snow as she could to create a snowball the size of her head. She raised it above her, ready to throw it, but before she could, Blake used this opportunity to toss a well timed snowball at her face. Yang reeled back from the blow, dropping the larger snowball on top of her head. 

“Yeah, it's on your head.”

“Oh you think that's funny, huh?”

“A little, yeah.” Blake said, giggling. Yang joined in her laughter, forming some small snowballs to pelt at her. Blake dodged most of them, but caught one to her left shoulder and one to her gut. Blake got her back for those shots by nailing her in the head three more times and another time in her chest. At the last shot, Yang dramatically clenched her chest and fell to her knees.

“Oof, I've been hit. I can't go on! Bleeah.” She said, falling on her back and kicking her legs up and flopping them back on the ground. She stuck her tongue out for comedic effect. Blake laughed at the 'dead' beast and fell on the ground next to her. Not able to keep up the dead act while Blake was laughing, Yang burst out into laughter as well. “I should have known there was 'snow' way I could win.”

“No, no you didn't just make a pun.”

“I don't 'snow' what you mean, 'flake'.”

“Stop that.”

“'Ice' still don't understand, stop what?”

“Stop it!” Blake commanded, but her giggles gave away how she really felt.

“Woah, sounds like someone needs to 'chill out'.”

“Uuuugh.” Blake moaned. She couldn't believe it, she would have to live with a pun making, flower picking, snow loving dragon for the next six months. 

Actually, that thought made her rather happy.

**XxXxX**

After their little early winter excursion, the two went inside to dry off. At least Blake did, Yang's natural heat helped dry her off pretty easily. They spent the rest of the night in a room they hadn't used in the past three months, the study. There was a fireplace in there, so Yang brought in some wood and lit the fire to keep Blake warm. Making a small detour to the library, Blake picked up the book they were in the middle of. Another romance, as per Yang's request. She read to Yang until she started to trail off, too sleepy to continue. Yang kept asking if she wanted to go to bed, but Blake would insist that she was fine and continued to read. Only to fall asleep a couple sentences later. By the fifth time this happened, Yang didn't even bother waking the bookworm up. She scooped her off of the ground and brought her back to her room, much like she did on one of her first nights here. But this time, Yang left a small kiss on the girl's cheek as she tucked her into her bed. 

“Things seem to be progressing nicely.” Weiss said from a mirror just outside of Blake's bedroom.

“What do you mean?”

“You and Blake. I see everything, Yang. I can see budding romance when it's there.”

“You mean like you and Ruby?” Yang retorted, making Weiss scowl at her. Her blush, however, gave her away. “Besides, she only sees me as a friend.”

“I don't know too many friends that act that way, Yang.”

“You don't have too many friends. Just Ruby and me. And you want to kis-”

“ANYWAYS.” Weiss cut her off. “Maybe you should tell her how you feel.”

“No, not yet. I'm not ready, Weiss.”

“Why not?” She asked. “It's not like we have much more time. In only six months you'll be twenty-one and the curse will be-”

“I know! I know. But that's still time. I don't want to scare her off if she's the only chance Ruby has.” Said Yang. She started to walk away from the mirror.

“She means more than that and you know it, Yang.”

Yang stopped walking and slumped her shoulders.

“I know, but what if I don't mean as much to her. What would I do then?” Yang asked. Weiss said nothing. What could she say? “And there's my problem.”

Yang walked off to her room and slumped into her bed. 

She already missed having Blake by her side.


	8. One Last Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time is ticking away, and our heroes start to lose hope. Something may be able to help them but... Will they have to courage to press on with it?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Blue here. This is kind of a long chapter, we are nearing the end of this journey. Thanks for all of your feedback and kudos, I love hearing from you guys! Hope you all like this one too! Enjoy the Bees!

Five months passed quicker than either of them even realized. The pair had been taking more days off then they had planned. They would walk, talk and on occasion, hunt. Blake usually just watched as Yang did most of the work, but she would contribute where she could. On one occasion, when Yang was finding it difficult to catch anything, Blake suggested they try catching some fish. The fish actually turned out to taste so much better than anything they had ever made thus far, at least in Blake's opinion. Yang noticed this and made sure to catch fish as often as she could.

Yang suffered from her curse more often. Her wings were growing at an alarming rate. It felt like Blake was going in to help once a week. Twice on the bad weeks. The minute that she heard Yang start to scream, she hopped out of bed with her blanket and came to comfort her. Weiss didn't even bother deterring her anymore. Blake would come in and hold her the best she could until the pain had subsided. When that happened, she helped Yang back into her bed and stayed the night.

She told herself it was just in case she started to transform again, but she knew otherwise. She actually just enjoyed being in the beast's presence.

Along with wings, Yang's body started to change in other ways. At one point, it became clear to Blake that it was becoming more difficult to walk on two feet. The dragon's coordination on two feet was sloppy at best. It took an hour long conversation to convince her that she should try walking on all fours more. She didn't like it, but took the advice to heart. She would still walk on two feet for the most part, but would switch over to four anytime it got to be too much for her.

They still studied, but their sessions were shorter and broken off earlier so that Blake could read to Yang. Neither of them seemed to mind... That was until Weiss pointed out how little time they had left. After that, they were in full on panic mode.

“Anything?” Yang said, a book open on the desk in front of her. She was staring at the text and squinting, hoping it would unveil some sort of lost secret. Blake could tell that all it was doing was giving her a headache.

“Nothing in this one.” Blake huffed, closing her book and tossing it on the stack that had formed that day. Six textbooks already, that was a new record. “Yang, stop trying to read, you know you can't. You'll only hurt yourself.”

“You can't do this all by yourself. You're kind of... 'booked'?” Yang said with a pathetic grin and two claw guns. Blake simply glowered at the beast. “I'm just trying to help.”

“I'll be fine. We'll find the cure. How many more books can there be?”

“A lot. So many more.” Yang whined, stomping over to her beat up chair and slumping into it. She moved the chair next to Blake's to be closer to her. For warmth only, of course. “She said it was supposed to be here. Where is it?”

“I don't know.” Blake replied honestly. “But we have to keep looking.”

“Oum, this is more stress than that time I stole that scotch bottle from my father's military ball.”

“Military ball?”

“Yeah, it was a fancy party that he threw for his military friends. You know how it goes.”

“Not really.”

“Military balls?”

“No, balls in general.”

Yang shot up from her seat in surprise.

“You've never been to a ball?”

“I haven't.”

“Oh but they're so much fun! Isn't your father a famous author?”

“Yes, but his success is still fairly new. And parties aren't really my thing.” Blake told her. “I'm not exactly a people person, Yang.”

“Aah, dragon person. Should have known.”

“Shut up, you know what I meant.” Blake said, smacking her arm with the book she was supposed to be studying.

“I know, I know.”

Their eyes locked in that moment, lilac met amber. Blake felt her heart beat faster than before. It lasted only five seconds tops, but Blake felt like it lasted longer.

“I s-should really get back t-to my book.” Blake said, turning away from Yang.

“R-right.” Yang said.

The raven-haired girl continued to read, but felt Yang watch her as she did.

**XxXxX**

“So, how about it?” Yang said after she had finished her proposed idea. Her birthday was now only a week away. One week and Ruby would be gone. One week and Weiss would be trapped forever. One week and she wouldn't remember any of them. Ruby, Weiss. Not even Blake. And the sad part is that Yang had almost accepted it. She hadn't given up, Blake was still plugging away, reading as if she was trying to save her own life rather than others. But Yang reached some sense of peace with the future. And if it was to be her last day, she wanted it to be a good one.

One spent with the girl she loved.

Yes, she knew now that she loved Blake. Completely and entirely. She loved the way she laughed, the way her eyes squinted, full of mirth. She loved the timbre of her voice, the soft silky resonance made her feel completely relaxed. She loved her passion for books, the way she would gush about her favorite parts and what made each one great. She loved the little bow she wore on her head, how it made her look like a little kitty cat. She loved her smile, the rare big, bright smile that challenged the sun.

She loved Blake.

If only Blake felt the same.

“You want to have a ball?”

“Yeah! The day before my birthday.”

“I don't know, I told you I'm not really a people person.”

“Who did you think I was gonna invite? It'll just be you and me!”

“But isn't your birthday when the curse becomes permanent?”

“It is.”

“Yang, we'll figure it out by then.”

“Then we can celebrate!”

“Yang.” Blake said. She grabbed her claw and gave a concerned look. “Why do you really want this ball?”

“I just... I want one last night. One last night where I feel... human. Where I can wear something fancy and dance with a beautiful woman.” Yang reluctantly told her.

“Yang.”

“Please, Blake.” Yang pleaded. “One night?”

“Alright.” Blake said, her voice cracked a bit. “But you'll be fine. You know that, right?”

“Of course.” Yang lied. She knew she wouldn't. It was alright. Blake would be able to go back to her father. She would be able to move on from this depressing place and find someone she deserved. Someone who would love her for who she was. Someone who was just as kind and wonderful as her.

Yang wished that she could have been that someone.

**XxXxX**

Blake didn't like the way Yang had been acting this past week. She had been so complacent, it wasn't like her. She didn't even stay in the library with her while she studied (which actually helped her get more done, if she was being honest). She was off cleaning somewhere in the manor, getting ready for the ball she wanted to throw. Normally, she would come back to retrieve Blake for lunch, but it was past the time they usually ate. So instead, Blake left to try and locate Yang. She first checked the grand hall, figuring that that was where they would hold the ball. Yet, the hall looked the same as ever. No better, no worse.

“Weiss?” Blake called out.

“Yes?” Weiss answered appearing in the mirror behind her.

“Where's Yang?”

“I'm not sure.”

“Weiss, you know everything that happens in this manor.” Blake stated, crossing her arms. “Where is she?”

"Perhaps she is in the west wing. Maybe you should check that out.”

“I'm not allowed there, Weiss.”

“Really? After all this time you think she'll mind you being in there?”

“I guess not.”

“Then go on.”

Blake gave Weiss a skeptical look, but did as she said. She was always curious about the west wing, about the rose room. She caught a glimpse of it briefly on her first night, but not the full room. She slowly inched her way into the rose room, and found that Yang was not there at all. In the center of the room was Ruby, faintly glowing with one last petal left. It was a sad sight to Blake, she had already felt like she had failed. Past that was a balcony. The vines spread against that side of the manor as well, and some roses bloomed around the balcony. It seemed like it would be a nice room for a romantic rendezvous, if it weren't for the mystical, living rose in the center of the room.

Blake went out the balcony with the intent of getting some fresh air. She needed a break from studying anyways, maybe the air would help.

It didn't.

It had been nine months and Blake still didn't know what exactly it was that would cure them all. She had studied chemical texts, alchemical texts, spiritual, theological. She even studied history books to see if anything like this had happened before. Her research had run dry and she had to watch as Yang became more accepting of her fate.

“Hello, Blake.” A voice greeted from behind her. Her first thought was that it was Weiss, but the voice was much higher and had an echo-like quality to it. Turning around, she saw a red figure that seemed to be comprised of some sort of vapor. She had bangs that fell to her right and a haircut that just barely reached past her jaw line. Blake knew who this was.

“Ruby?” Blake asked. The airy girl gave a weak, but warm smile.

“It's nice to meet you. I've heard a lot about you.”

“And I of you. Isn't maintaining a form hard for you?”

“They have told you a lot, haven't they.” Ruby noted. “I'm guessing it was Weiss?”

“Yeah.”

“She's pretty great, isn't she?”

“You got her to send me here, didn't you?” Blake put together.

“Yang was right, you are smart.” Ruby complimented. “I needed to talk to you.”

“I could tell that much. What is it?”

“I wanted to talk about Yang.”

“Yes?”

“How do you feel about her?”

How did she feel? Now that was a complicated question. She hated Yang when she first got here, but the more she got to know her, the closer they grew. They read together, ate together. They walked and hunted and, on some nights, held each other. Was there something there that she was not aware of?

“I... don't know.” Blake answered honestly. Ruby seemed to understand and nodded her head.

“Well, I know that you make her happy, Blake. Happier than she has been in a long time.” Said Ruby. “I need you to do something for me.”

“What is it?”

“Make her last day wonderful.”

“Ruby, I'm gonna find the cur-”

“No, you're not.” Ruby interrupted. A red wisp fell down her face, a tear. Still, her mouth curled up. “It's alright. I chose this. I stepped in front of the curse to save my sister. It's a miracle that I survived this long. And I don't want you to blame yourself, because you tried really hard. I know you did. And you made Yang laugh again, and that means the world to me.”

Blake closed her eyes, trying to fight back the tears that threatened to spill from them.

“You can stop, Blake. Enjoy your last few days with Yang. She needs you right now.”

“Yeah, well what if I need her!” Blake shouted. She cupped her mouth after the words fell out of her mouth. Where did that come from?

“Be strong, Blake. It will be ok.” Ruby said, her light growing dimmer. “This is the last time I'll be able to do this. It was nice to meet you, Blake. You seem wonderful.”

“I'm sorry.” Blake said.

“Don't be.” Ruby said. “And tell Weiss that I lo-” The wispy girl was cut off before she could finish her sentence. Weiss would never know the last thing that Ruby had wanted to say to her. Blake had a feeling about what she was going to say though.

She had a feeling that Weiss already knew.

**XxXxX**

“Hey Yang, there you are.” Blake said, locating Yang who was coming from the east wing corridor.

“Sorry, I got caught up cleaning and working on something special.” Yang told her grinning and clearly proud of herself. “I think you'll like it- Woah, hey are you alright? You look like you've been crying.”

“I'm fine.” Blake responded far too fast for Yang's liking. “I just found another book I want you to hear, a really good one. Full of action, adventure and romance.”

“Sounds like a good one, but will you have time with your studying?”

“Don't worry about that, Yang.” Blake told her.

“Oh.” Yang said. So that was that. It wasn't a surprise to her, but it was hard to hear come from Blake. “Ok, I'd love to hear it. Want to start after dinner tonight? I've still got a little more work to do after lunch.”

“Sounds good.”

Their lunch was very quiet, neither of them wanted to address the elephant in the room. They made simple conversations, but nothing substantial. Yang so desperately wanted to ask what the raven-haired girl was thinking, but she was too afraid that it would be nothing but pity and sorrow. Yang really didn't want to wallow right now. She wanted to have fun, one last hurrah.

The two went their separate ways after their awkward lunch. Stepping into the study, Yang inspected her handy work. Not bad for someone with claws. In front of her was one of her father's more ornate outfits. It was a deep blue coat, lined with gold along the collar and the edges. It came with a ruffled white shirt, a gold vest, classy black slacks and a brown belt. She had to forgo the boots, because their was no shoe that could contain her massive clawed feet. Yang had been working all day to adjust the outfit to fit her better. Her sewing skills weren't the greatest, but she had learned to make due. With her changing body, clothes ripping became a normal happening. She couldn't exactly go out and buy more clothes either. Yet, the coat, vest and undershirt actually looked... good. She put the articles on and tested out her maneuverability. A tiny bit restricting, but otherwise good. She wouldn't mind wearing it for one night. If it meant she could be Blake's dashing prince, she would deal with the slightly snug outfit.

The pants were the concerning part to her. They were roomy enough, but the belt would not be long enough to fit around her large waist. So she ransacked her father's clothes for a second belt. Hooking the two together, she was able to make the belt fit around her waist rather nicely. After assembling all the pieces together, she stepped in front of the mirror she put in the study.

“You look nice, Yang.” Weiss complimented.

“Wow, Weiss. You're saying something nice about me? Something must be wrong.”

“What? I can't compliment my friend?”

“Ha! I knew you cared about me!”

“Of course I do, you oaf!” Weiss shouted. “Are you alright?”

“I'm fine.” Yang answered, adjusting her cuff. “Are you gonna be alright?”

“I'll survive.” Weiss said. The ivory-haired girl bit her lip. She clearly had more to say. “Yang, it was nice kno-”

“No, Weiss. No goodbyes. Not yet. I'm not ready.” Interjected Yang, slipping off her adjusted coat. “Let's just have fun, alright? Let's forget about this curse and just...” Yang let out a long breath.

“Have fun. If that's what you want.”

“Cheer up! We're having another party! I know how much you love those.”

“At least I won't have to help clean up the mess this time.”

“Mess free, I promise.”

“Don't make promises you can't keep, Xiao Long.”

“Too late,” Yang said softly, thinking to another promise she made to Ruby and Weiss.

One that would be broken soon.

**XxXxX**

It was the day before the big party Yang had planned. The great ball that she had been working so hard on. Luckily, Yang hadn't had any nights of transformations yet. That didn't stop Blake from spending her nights with Yang. She told herself that it was just in case anything happened, but she knew otherwise. She realized that the Yang she knew wouldn't be around much longer. She wanted to spend as much time as she could with her.

The bookworm was not able to sleep on this night, though. She decided to get up and grab some fresh air. Without thinking, she decided to head to the rose room once again. She never did get to fully check out the balcony last time she was here. Opening the doors to said balcony, she knew that she had made the right choice coming here. The view was absolutely breathtaking. And the roses that lined it made her feel safe and secure. It did not do much to help with her sense of guilt though. She was supposed to find the key to break the curse. She was supposed to be the knowledgeable one who could figure this out. Now she had to watch her best friend descend into the madness of a beast she fought so hard not to be.

“It is lovely out here, isn't it?” A voice said from behind her. It was an old aged voice. One that she hadn't heard in five years. Blake turned to face the unexpected visitor. It was a short old woman who wore a brown, tattered old cloak. She had bug eyes, a long crooked nose and a smile with many missing teeth.

But this was no stranger to Blake.

“Mrs. Goodwitch! What are you doing here?” Blake asked the old woman. She had not seen the woman since she stayed at her father's inn, and to find her here?

“I'm enjoying the view, same as you.” She replied easily. “You've been here for quite a while now, haven't you? Nine months. That's much longer than anyone else has stayed.”

“How did you know that?”

“I know more than you think, child. I've been keeping my eye on you.” Mrs. Goodwitch said. “And Yang.”

“You know about Yang?” Blake asked. Upon her asking that question, the old woman seemed to transform right before her very eyes. Her straggly straw hair turned into luscious platinum locks that formed a bun in the back. Her facial features became much more youthful, but she still gave off a vibe of a strict teacher. “You're... You're the enchantress.”

“Very astute.” She told her. “My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and I am the one who cursed this household.”

“Why?” Blake asked. “They didn't deserve this.”

“While it is true that Miss Rose and Miss Schnee did not, the actions of Miss Xiao Long could not be ignored.”

“Yang is a good person.”

“She wasn't always. You didn't know her before.”

Blake was about to defend Yang more but remembered the beast saying something to that effect.

“I test people, Blake. I test the love and kindness in their hearts. If they pass my test, like your father, I reward them. Why do you think that publisher came to stay that night?”

“You did that?”

“You and your father are good people, Blake. And your father is talented. You deserved a break.”

“But... But why punish Yang so severely? She made one mistake!”

“And she had made many before that, Blake. I think you misunderstand what I have tried to do here. I did not do this to make her suffer, I did it to make her learn and grow.”

“What do you mean?”

“Let me show you from the eyes of the beast.” Glynda said, pulling out a crop-like wand. She swirled it around, sparks formed a circle in the air. Inside of that circle, a scene played out. It was from the point of view of someone in a long lavender dress. She descended the grand hall into a party and met up with an unsavory lot of people. They all seemed so superficial, making fun of the other guests, talking about how good each other looked. And then this person heard a voice call from behind her.

'Yaaaaaaang' She heard a familiar voice call out and crush this person in a hug.

“Is that?” Blake asked. The enchantress nodded.

Blake watched in surprise as the girl chewed out her little sister in front of everyone and then... Acted like she was proud of herself. The swirling sparks were extinguished, as was the image of the people laughing.

“Was that what Yang was like back then?”

“Yes.” She said. “But look how far she has come. She is so close to breaking this spell, and it's partially thanks to you.”

“Me?” Blake asked in surprise. What had she done? She had searched for the key for months and found nothing.

“Yes, Blake. You.” Glynda said with a soft smile. “The key was never in any book. It was inside of Yang all along.”

“Why are you telling me this?”

“Because you are the one that will help her.” She moved her crop up again and pulled a piece of paper out of thin air. “This is for you. This is the key."

Blake grabbed the piece of paper out of the air and read it out loud.

“'When drops fall down and true love is found, only then will the curse break.'” Blake recited. “What? What does this mean? Gly-”

Blake looked up and the woman was nowhere to be seen. She leaned over the edge of the balcony to see if she could catch a glimpse of the enchantress, but she saw nothing. Her eyes darted back to the cryptic piece of paper. 'True love'.

So love was the key? It all seemed too simple, didn't it. No chemical equation, no spiritual explanation. Just love, plain and simple. But it didn't feel simple to Blake. No, this was much more complicated than any equation.

Love was the key. But... did she love Yang? She wasn't sure. She cared for her very deeply, yes. It was hard to imagine her life without the lovable beast (which she had to do more often recently), sure. But love? What does it feel like to love someone? Blake wished her papa was here so she could ask him that. He would know the answer to that. The only love she knew was from him and the books she would read. But everyone is different and experiences love in a different way. Who's to say what she has with Yang is or isn't love.

And even if she did love Yang, who knows if she loved her back. Yes she was more affectionate with her, but she hadn't had contact with anyone in years. It must feel nice to her. And she would do these sweet gestures for her, but Yang had learned the importance of kindness over these years. What would happen to Blake if she confessed her love and Yang did not reciprocate. She saw what happened to Ruby and Weiss when they stood with Yang. Would she turn into a plant too?  A nightshade? Or would her fate be similar to Weiss. Would she be trapped in a household object? A foot stool, perhaps. She hoped not, she could not fathom being every foot stool. One looked to be scratched up by a cat long ago. That did not seem too pleasant.

Blake was scared. She wanted to help, but didn't want to suffer the same fate as the others. So, instead of telling Yang about this, telling Weiss about this, or even telling Ruby, she let the slip of paper fall to the floor just beside the end table with Ruby's rose as she left the room to return to Yang.

 _I'll see how tomorrow pans out._ Blake thought.

What she didn't know was that someone had heard the whole conversation and was long inspecting the piece of paper on the ground. Someone who had eyes and ears everywhere.

**XxXxX**

“Yang, there's something you should know.” Weiss told her sadly.

“Weiss, I said no goodbyes until tonight. Today is about fun.”

“But Yang it's important that you know.”

“No, what's important now is getting ready for this ball.” Yang said, fastening the buttons on her blue coat. “And tonight, I'll tell her how I really feel. No matter what.”

“Yang, she-”

“No! I don't want to hear it.” Yang snapped. “You promised me, Weiss. One night of fun, alright?”

“As you wish.” Weiss said coldly, leaving the room. Yang sighed.

“What warped her reflection?” Yang asked aloud. Yang combed through her mane (she even washed it and everything) and tied it back in a low ponytail, much like Blake's. She was never particularly fond of tying it up, but she thought it made her look rather dashing in this outfit.

It was about noon, but Yang wanted the party to start as soon as possible. She was afraid that she would go through the rest of the transformation at night and the ball would be ruined. So she told Blake to meet her in the dance hall for lunch, giving her directions, as she had not been there yet. Yang used to keep it locked up, it used to remind her of all the parties she had attended. And what an awful person she was at all of them. But now, she felt like it was a new beginning. It had taken a lot of work (and reluctant use of her small wings) but she had basically cleaned the whole place back to its former glory. The most difficult part was the chandelier. It was a very ornate piece, one that Yang didn't want to ruin with her clumsy claws. She still managed to polish the crystal without breaking it... ok, without breaking all of it. Some pieces may have chipped, but Yang did the best she could. Yet, through all the missteps, Yang stood there with her claws on her hips, proud of her accomplishment.

“Wow, you clean up well.” Yang heard Blake say from behind her. She turned around, ready to retort with a sassy quip, but the second she saw her she lost her ability to form coherent sentences. Blake had on one of her dresses, a shimmering gold one, with ruffles that spread down like golden waves. It perfectly hugged her hips and swayed as she walked. Her hair was down this time, with the top  brought back and tied up by the bow that was usually on top of her head. And Yang had never seen eyes so bright in her life. The gold in the dress could not match the shiny beauty that was her amber orbs. She was perfect.

“I... I... do so you... I mean you so do... I mean!” Yang stumbled. She took a deep breath to calm herself. “So do you.”

Blake giggled again and Yang thought she was going to have a heart attack. It was simply not fair. She was so perfect, what did she do to deserve to be in the presence of someone so wonderful.

“Thank you. I borrowed the dress in the back of the closet, it was covered up. I hope it's ok that I wear this.”

“I-it's more than fine, it looks absolutely wonderful on you.”

“So, shall we eat?” Blake said, strolling up to Yang and grabbing her elbow.

“We shall.” Yang said.

**XxXxX**

The ball was simply wonderful. After lunch, Yang and Blake hit the dance floor. Yang had asked Weiss if she would sing some songs for them to dance to. Blake had to admit that the guard had an amazing voice. Truly beautiful. Yang seemed nervous at first, probably not used to taking lead. That or she was worried she would step on Blake's feet. But soon, they fell into step with each other, dancing the day away. Weiss had only sung three or four songs for them, but they kept dancing long after that. They danced to their own song, the one only they could hear.

And then, together, they both decided that this last song was a slow one. One where Yang held Blake close to her and Blake... Well she worked on trying not to cry.

“I'm so happy I met you, Blake.” Yang said.

“I'm glad I met you too.”

“Sorry it wasn't for very long.”

“Shh, you said that this day was supposed to be fun.”

“We've had our fun, Blake. It's time to face this.”

“No, everything will be ok.”

“It won't, Blake.”

“It will, I swear, I-”

“Blake.” Yang cut her off. “It's ok. I feel like the luckiest girl in the world for knowing you.”

“Yang.” Blake said, feeling her voice waver a bit.

“We got off to a rocky start.” Yang chuckled, Blake could feel the rumbling in her chest. “But we grew past that. And now look at us. You're rather remarkable, not every girl would dance with a monster.”

“You're not a monster.”

“I will be soon.”

“Stop.”

“I'm sorry, but it's the truth.” Yang said. “But before I fully transform, there's something I want you to know.”

“What is it?”

“Blake... I... I lo-”

“Stop! She's keeping things from you.” A voice interrupted. The two broke away from each other and looked to one of the mirrors in the dance hall.

“Weiss? What do you mean?” Yang asked.

“Why don't you tell her what happened last night, Blake?”

Oh no.

“What are you talking about?” Yang asked, her temper rising. She turned her attention back to Blake. “What does she mean?”

“I... I...” Blake stammered.

“She found the key last night and didn't tell you. It's in the rose room.” Weiss stated.

“W-what? No, Blake wouldn't do that. R-right Blake?” Yang asked, but the dark-haired girl just averted her eyes. “Right?”

Blake worked the courage up to look into her lilac orbs, but couldn't deny what Weiss was saying. She was right. She found the key and she didn't tell Yang about it.

Yang stormed out of the hall.

“Yang, wait!”

She finally caught up with her again in the rose room. She was holding up the piece of paper in her claw, trying to read it.

“Yang, I can explain.”

“What does it say?”

“Yang-”

“WHAT DOES IT SAY?” Yang roared.

“'When drops fall down and true love is found, only then will the curse break.'” Weiss answered for Blake. “I've gotten better at reading backwards.”

“What does that even mean? True love?” Yang cried out. Then, she realized the implications behind Blake leaving the piece of paper. She looked into Blake's eyes, lilac filled with the smallest glimmer of hope. Blake watched as it faded away, leaving behind only hurt and pain. “Love.”

“Yang, I-”

“No, I get it.” Yang said in a voice that was far too soft for the situation. “Loud and clear.”

“But I-”

“Just go.”

“What?” Blake asked, disbelief tainting her voice.

“You weren't able to help us break the curse. It's been nine months. You are free to leave.”

“No, Yang! I wa-”

“LEAVE!” Yang shouted. “You don't want to be here anymore so just GO! Go home, Blake! Go home and LEAVE ME ALONE!”

Blake took a step back, tears falling from her eyes. She tried to muster the courage to argue with her, but she couldn't stand the way Yang looked at her. The beast looked at her as if she just tore out her heart and threw it on the ground.

Hadn't she though?

Blake turned on her heel and ran out of the doors. She went out of the west wing, down the grand stairs and through the large front doors. And then she was gone.

**XxXxX**

“I should have known!” Yang yelled, as soon as she left the room. “No one would ever love me. Not even her.”

Yang threw a fit, stomped over to her room and proceeded to trash the place. She smashed the dresser with all of her oversized clothes and flung the bits of wood all around. She pounded on the ground, as if it was the one to betray her on this night. She shredded her bed, feathers flew everywhere. She destroyed everything in sight. Everything until she reached a familiar cloak. It was Blake's, the one thing she had left of her father at the time. The one she had given to Yang to make her feel better.

Now empty kindness to her, not love.

She was such a fool to trick herself into thinking that she might love her. And that, all along, was the key. It was hopeless now. She may love her, but Blake certainly did not feel the same. And now she had pushed her away for good. She never got to tell her how she felt. So instead, Yang lifted up the cloak, tears welling in her dragon-like eyes. She pretended for a moment, only a moment, that this was Blake.

“Blake.” She started, her voice cracking with emotion. “I love you.”

She then hugged the cloak tighter, still believing it was her.

Yang put the cloak on and walked back to the rose room. Weiss didn't try to talk to her and she was grateful for that. She slunk over to the balcony and waited. The sun was just setting, clouds were starting to roll in. A storm was brewing and would probably start soon. Not that it mattered. When midnight struck, she would be gone.

So she just waited for midnight, surrounded by roses and despair.


	9. Leap Of Faith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time is running out and the danger only raises. Our knight won't let Yang or Ruby down, determined to fight to the end. But Blake, she may need a push in the right direction. Perhaps some fatherly advice.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Blue again. We are coming to the end of our story soon. I know a bunch of you have been looking forward to this chapter and I hope it lives up to your expectations. Let me know what ya think! Enjoy the Bees!

Blake had stopped crying by the time she had made it back to her village. Luckily, it had only taken about an hour or so to get back (Blake swears it was longer last time). It was strange being back after so long, everything seemed so different. But she'd be lying if she said she didn't miss her home.

Then again, she'd also be lying if she said she didn't already miss the manor.

And Yang.

As she made her way to her house, she saw a strange man with orange hair, a bowler hat and a cane give her a weird smirk. She felt like she had seen him before, but she couldn't place where. It didn't matter now though, she had to go see her father. She was so happy to go see him again, but the joy was bittersweet right now, what with the way she left things with Yang. 

She checked the door to see if it was locked or not. It was, and the hideaway key was nowhere to be found. So, like everyone else, she had to knock on her own door. She heard the familiar bounding of her father's feet.

“I told you people time and time again. I'm fine, I don't need your charity!” The voice boomed from behind the door, before it swung open. “So go aw- Blake!” The man completely changed his tone when he saw who was outside of his door. 

“Hello, papa.” Blake said. The man pulled Blake into a tight hug, shuddering with relief and tears.

“I thought I lost you forever!” Ghira cried. “Is this real?”

“It's real, I'm here.” Blake said, hugging him back. Tears started to fall down her face too.

“Come inside! Oh you must be hungry, did you eat well? No, I don't imagine you did. After all-” Ghira rambled, but finally took in the appearance of his daughter. “You look rather fancy today.”

“It's kind of a long story.”

“Did that monster force you to wear this or something?”

“No! Oh Oum no. Yang is actually very sweet and kind!”

“Yang?”

“The beast.”

“That thing has a name?”

“Yes, she does. And... I really messed up.”

“How did you mess up? She took you.”

“Technically I could have left whenever I wanted. I chose to stay. To help Ruby and Weiss.”

“Alright, I'm lost. I'm gonna need some sort of synopsis here.”

“Where do I even start.” Blake said. “Well, first of all, Yang never killed anyone. She just honestly needed help.” And Blake proceeded to tell Ghira all about her time in the manor. The reason why he couldn't find her. The things she had learned, all the books she studied, her time with Yang. She especially expanded on that. And by the end of the explanation, Ghira had this look of understanding on his face. 

“What?” Blake asked.

“You love her, don't you.”

“I... I don't know.”

“Blake, I have never seen you talk about anyone like this before. She's different.”

“Ok so let's just say that, hypothetically, I do. What do I do? It's too late now and I'm sure that she hates me.”

“No, she pushed you away because she was hurt, but I don't think she hates you, Blake.” He told her. “You should go back.”

“What? But I just got home.” 

“I'll come with you this time. But you need to go to her.”

“But what if I can't find it again.”

“You have the dress, something that belongs to the manor, right? You'll be able to find it.”

“But.” Blake tried to come up with another excuse, but found no more. It was truth time. “I'm scared.”

“I know, sweetheart, I know.” She said, pulling her into another embrace. “It's a scary thing. You know, I was terrified to travel when I was younger.”

“You were? But you travel all the time.”

“I was! I was so scared. But I did it anyways. And if I didn't, I never would have met your mother.” He said lost in memory. He then poked Blake in the nose. “And I never would have had you!”

“You never told me that.”

“Parents don't want their children seeing their vulnerable side, we need to be strong. But this will make you stronger, my dear.” Explained Ghira. “Life is scary, love is scary. Sometimes you just have to take that leap of faith.”

A leap of faith. Nine months ago, she would have said that she would be crazy to take such a risk. There was not a single person, besides her father, who she would have done so much for. She kept to herself, never let anyone in. It was just easier that way. She had her father and her books, what more could anyone else give her? Well, just as Yang learned about compassion, Blake had learned about companionship. Yang always made her feel wanted, and not for superficial reasons, like Adam. 

She let Yang in, she let her get to know her, shared her books with her. That wasn't so scary to her, it was so natural and gradual that she didn't even notice. So why was this so scary? Why did it scare her that she might have feelings for Yang? 

“A leap of faith.”

“We all have to take one at some point in our lives. This is your moment Blake.”

He was right. Yang needed her. She needed Yang. It was time for her to jump and trust that the net would be there to catch her. Time for something new. 

After all, new was good.

So, without another word, she left the room, changed, and got some supplies together. What was she thinking before? Of course she would go after Yang. She had told her that she would help her break the curse and she intended on it. She came back into the living room with a pack on her back, her own deep purple cloak and the golden dress slung over her shoulder. 

“Ready to go, papa?”

“Whenever you are.”

Yet, when they stepped outside, a small group of men waited for them. 

“She finally returns! Tell me, Blake, how big was the beast?” Adam boomed. The men around him bore pitchforks and torches, as if they were ready for a fight. What did he want now? Blake was used to him approaching and reciting some dead philosopher (whether the quote fit the situation or not). This seemed more... threatening.

“I thought I told you to leave!” Ghira shouted.

“And you swore that she was in a manor with a beast, but you obviously lied about that, old man.”

“The manor is real, I've been there!” Blake yelled.

“Oh really, and the beast too?” Adam asked.

“Yes, it's all real.”

The smug man rubbed his chin in consideration, and then finally gave a curt nod.

“I've always trusted your word, Blake. The only one who actually makes sense around here.” 

“Hey.” One of the men shouted back.

“I'm only saying what's true, don't take it personally, Boris.” Adam said to the man. Turning back to address Blake, he put on a sickly smile. “If what you say is true, then take me to the beast.”

“What? Why?”

“You told me that you preferred the hunter side of me, Blake.” Adam said, adjusting the musket on his back and placing a hand on his sword. “Well now here it is. I have killed the largest game out there, but it's not enough. I will prove what a great hunter I am! Take me to this beast and I will slay it for you.”

“No! She's not a monster! She's good, she never wanted to hurt anyone.”

“What? You're defending it?”

“She's... She's m-my... friend.”

“Friend, eh? You're kidding me.” Adam seethed.

“She's far better company than you!” Blake shouted, getting up in his face. 

“Something tells me that's not all it is.” Adam sneered. He turned towards his men. “The beast has obviously warped her brain, we must track it down and kill it!”

“You can't!” Ghira piped in. “You can't even find it without something from the manor.”

Blake was about to add onto his statement, but felt the dress on her shoulder slip off in a swift motion.

“Oh, you mean something like this?” Someone said from behind them. It was the man with the bowler hat. One of Adam's cronies, she should have known. “Got it, Adam. Let's go!”

“Give that back!” Blake screamed, trying to reach for the dress, but the man flung his cane up and put some distance between the two of them.

“Mmm... Nah!” 

“Sorry it has to be this way, Blake. But you left me no choice. Fear not though, once I kill that fowl beast, you will no longer be under it's spell and you and I can be together.” Adam shouted, taking the dress and mounting his horse.

“Rot in hell, Adam!”

The gang of men rode off, leaving the two Belladonna's with nothing. 

No way to find the manor. 

No hope.

**XxXxX**

Weiss left the rose room with a heavy heart. She couldn't bare to see Yang so depressed once again. She was finally joyful and peaceful when she was with Blake. Weiss didn't mean to break Yang's heart, but she thought that she had the right to know. Blake found the key and left it behind. How could she let Yang bare her heart like that without knowing the truth? 

Weiss checked the time. It was already ten. There wasn't much time left. By midnight, she would be trapped here forever, no hope of escape. 

Her only friend would be a monster.

Ruby would be gone.

“Be very careful, men. We don't know how dangerous this monster is.” A low voice said in the distance. Did someone find the manor? Weiss shifted over to the mirror she used to check the front door. The sight she saw filled her with dread. 

A group of men, invaders, were posed out side of the door. The large group were brandished with various weapons. Some pitchforks, some short swords. Two of them had large torches. She didn't waste a second and went straight back to the rose room. 

“Yang! There are some men here! They have weapons!”

“It doesn't matter anymore.” Yang said apathetically.

“What do you mean? They could kill you?”

“I'll be a monster soon anyways. It's probably for the best.”

“But Yang-”

“It. Doesn't. Matter.”

Weiss realized that it was useless trying to reason with her right now. She was too raw, too hurt to care about anything. That wouldn't stop Weiss from trying though. She went down to the entrance to stop the men, even though all she could do was yell at them. 

Then she would yell until her voice grew hoarse.

The men cracked open the door and cautiously made their way inside. Weiss would not let them go any further without giving them a piece of her mind.

“You are not welcome here, leave now!” Weiss yelled in the strongest voice possible. 

“Who said that?” A man with spiky red hair asked. “Who's there?”

“Leave now, or there will be consequences.” Weiss bluffed. She knew that once they knew where she was and what she was, the battle was as good as over. Mirrors weren't exactly the toughest of materials. 

“Reveal yourself!” A man with a torch commanded. “Are you the beast?”

So they were after Yang. No, no way would she let them. There had to be something she could do. She pressed up against the glass, hoping that she could push her way out, knowing that it was impossible. It didn't stop her from trying though. 

“There! In the mirror!” Someone else pointed out. 

Weiss clenched her eyes closed and pushed harder, with more conviction. She had to do this, she had to! For Yang, for Ruby! She wouldn't be a spectator anymore. 

“What. Is. That?” One man whimpered. Weiss opened her eyes and saw something start to form in front of her. A reflective like object started to take form, growing some limbs. Two armored arms, a pair of legs, a helmet. In front of Weiss stood a mirror knight. It turned to face her and bowed. Did... did she make that? Could she do that? Oh she wished that she knew about that before this. 

“Defend the manor!” She commanded. It nodded and turned to draw it's sword on the men. Weiss wasted no time, she went to all of the other mirrors and created more of these mirror knights. “Protect us!” 

They all saluted their commander and readied their attack.

**XxXxX**

Gambol dashed through the woods, carrying Blake and Ghira on it's back. 

“What if we're too late?”

“We won't be.”

“What if we can't find it?”

“We will.”

“We don't have anything from the manor.” Blake cried out. “It's been an hour, we should have found something by now!” 

“Calm down, Blake.” Ghira told his daughter.

“But we can't find it.” Blake said, pulling the reins on Gambol. They halted to a stop. “We won't be able to find her, papa.”

The cloaked girl buried her face into her hands. Tears fell freely from Blake's eyes as the hopelessness of their situation set in. Despite losing the dress, they still tried to follow Adam's band in hopes it would lead them to the manor. Gambol, who was already rather old and carrying two adults, was not able to keep up. Now they found themselves in the middle of the forest, lost and distressed.

Blake more so than Ghira.

“We will, I swear it.”

“How do you know?”

Ghira softly reached over and removed his daughters hands from her face and wiped away some of the dampness from her tears.

“Because you do still have something from the manor.”

“What are you talking about?” Blake whined, turning as much as she could on Gambol to face him. “Adam took the dress.”

“You have the same thing that I have. The same thing that always keeps your mother with me. What keeps her alive to me.”

“What?”

“It's gonna sound cliche coming from an author like me, but you have her love.” Ghira said. “You have her heart, Blake.”

“You really think that's going to help me get to her?”

“I do, you just need to believe that it will.”

Releasing a deep breath, Blake took the reins again and urged Gambol on. 

To the manor.

**XxXxX**

Weiss's knights were remarkably sturdy. If one of their limbs got shattered, it would grow back within seconds. They were seemingly indestructible, and some men understood that. Those men ran for the hills, as fast as their legs could carry them. It was not, unfortunately, all of them. They were very stubborn, but unlucky for them, so was Weiss. She would not let them get any further, even if she had to push her self to the limit. She had ten knights fighting against the men. 

She was concerned about the blur of red that passed one of her knights up the stairs. The man with the red hair got through. She tried to send one of her knights after him, but it was preoccupied with fending off three attackers at once. She followed the man (who she assumed was the leader of this band) up the stairs. Over his shoulder was a gold dress. The dress that Blake was wearing. How did he get that? Did she give it to him? No, she wouldn't have done that. Blake may have kept things from them, but she wouldn't betray them. She wouldn't betray Yang. 

“Leave now!” Weiss shouted.

“Shut up!” He shouted back. He was heading towards the west wing, kicking down every door. Weiss tried to will another knight, but did not have the strength to. All the mirrors in this manor and ten was the limit. She shouldn't complain, but she needed more power to protect them. Ten wasn't enough.

Finally, the man reached the rose room. Weiss shifted to the mirror in there faster then ever before. 

“Yang, look out!” Weiss yelled. The man threw a dagger at Yang just as she was turning around. It dug into her shoulder blade causing her to roar in pain. 

“So this is the beast she talked about. Not as threatening as I thought.” He sneered.

“What do you want?” Yang asked, plucking the dagger out of her shoulder as if it were a splinter.

“I'm here,” The red-haired man said, drawing his sword. “To slay you.”

“Yang, you are stronger then this. Don't let him win!” Weiss pleaded.

“Oh I won't.” She seethed. “I needed a punching bag, I guess you'll do.”

“Come and try, beast.”

Yang launched at the man, knocking his sword aside and kicking him back out of the room. Weiss saw what she was doing, she was taking him out of the rose room so that Ruby would be safe. Even now, she still thought about her sister's well-being. Well, she wasn't the only one who did. 

With the situation remedied for now, she turned her attention back to the battle down stairs. It still raged on, both sides about even. Weiss saw Yang and the red-haired man trading blows as they moved towards the east side. It looked as though she was moving it towards the dance hall, more space for her to attack freely. Moving back to Yang's fight, she noticed something odd. There were three mirrors in the dance hall, but she could only move to one of them. Inspecting the dark hall, she saw that two of those mirrors had been smashed due to their brawl. 

“Yang, be careful! You're smashing the-”

She was forcibly moved to the nearest mirror. There were no mirrors in the dance hall anymore, she had no way of checking on Yang. She just had to hope that she would be ok.

**XxXxX**

A change was imminent, Yang could feel it. She stripped herself of her clothing, letting them fall uselessly to the ground. She didn't really like to go around without any sort of garment on, but it's not like it would matter for much longer. The storm had finally set in, the rain fell heavily on the roof of the dance hall ominously. She kept her eyes on this man, whoever he was. He had this cocky, smug expression on his face. Like he already won.

“Finally taking it seriously, huh?” He said. “Recognize me as a worthy foe?”

“I never wanted to fight anyone. But you come in here and threaten the people I care about? Then I'll fight.”

“What people? There's a mirror and a rose.” He snickered. “And a monster.”

“I am not a monster yet.”

“Is that a threat?”

“No, it's just reality.”

“I can't believe she called you a friend.”

“She?”

“Blake.”

“You... You know Blake?”

“Know her? I'm going to marry her.” He said with bravado. This man? He thought he was worthy of someone like Blake? “You loved her, didn't you? You actually thought you had a chance. How adorable.”

“Shut up!”

“Oh, and it has a way with words too.” Adam mocked. “My oh my. How am I to compete with comebacks like that.”

“If you think she is going to fall for you after killing me, you've got another thing coming.”

“I... disagree.” Adam said, rushing Yang with his sword. She deflected it with her claws and leaped back. He kept on attacking, thrust after thrust, until she was backed up against a wall. “But really, you?”

He moved in to stab Yang, but she rolled out of the way. His sword stabbed into the wall. With a rough tug, he pulled it out. 

“She could have had anyone she wanted, she could have had ME!” The red-haired man shouted. “But she chose you? She spent her time with you? A dumb, ugly beast!” He ran forward and wildly swung at Yang. She dodged most of them, but a couple cut into her tough hide. She roared at the pain and swung her right claw at him, only for the man to duck just before it made contact. 

“And me? I changed myself for her! I made myself a well-educated man!” He said, swiping at Yang's clawed feet. She backed up and went down to all fours, snarling at the monologing man. “I became the perfect companion for her. No more was the dumb hunter, Adam the philosopher was here to stay.”

He stopped his attack momentarily and began circling Yang in the middle of the hall. 

“Then she says that she liked the hunter better. So that's what I'll be.” He said. “I'll be whatever she wants, as long as I get what I want. As long as I can use that Belladonna wealth to leave this town. And I won't let anyone, not even a drooling beast like you ruin my hard work!”

Yang couldn't stand to listen to this man a second longer, she pounced at him, ready to tear his throat out. No one used Blake, and if it was the last thing she did, Yang would teach this... this monster that lesson.

**XxXxX**

“We can't beat them!” A man cried out, taking another swing at one of the mirror knights. He got the message and bolted out of the estate. Good, there weren't too  many left. Weiss could handle this.

_ Smash! _

Weiss cringed as one of the knights sent an invader into a couple mirrors, shattering them completely. And then that knight... it disappeared. Oh no. Nine knights now. She just had to hope that that would be enough.

_ Crash, crash. _

Looking over, she saw a large man purposefully smash a couple more mirrors. Eight knights left. No! No no no, this was not good. Not good at all.

“The mirrors! Hit all the mirrors!” The man with the large gut yelled to his buddies. They proceeded to smash all the mirrors in the entrance. Seven knights. Yelling, they charged upstairs, smashing all the mirrors on their way. Six. Weiss commanded the knights to follow and stop them, but they were not fast enough and kept dwindling at an alarming rate. Five. Weiss was frantically switching from mirror to mirror, but could not keep up with all the men. Four. She was panicking, and there was nothing she could do to stop the madness. Three. They went into each and every room. Two. They targeted any sort of reflective surface. One. Weiss was lost, she didn't know what room she was in anymore, but then saw a man take the end of the pitchfork to her. 

None.

Then, she was in a very familiar room. A room she spent much of her time in. The rose room. But it wasn't out of choice this time. This was the last mirror in the manor. She could feel it. Even though she had been bound to the mirrors here, she never felt completely trapped. 

Not till now. 

To make matters worse, one creep crept in, a cane in his hand, ready to end it all. Weiss didn't know what would happen if all of the mirrors in the manor were broken, but she was honestly afraid to find out. She assumed that it would mean her demise. But then, something else caught the man's attention. He adjusted his bowler hat and looked closer at the rose in the middle of the room.

At Ruby.

He whistled at the sight.

“Wow, what a lovely rose.”

“Don't you dare touch her!” Weiss yelled.

“Or what? You can't summon those knights anymore, right? And if you really wanted back up, I assume that you would have moved to another mirror. So this must be the last one, eh?” 

The man was smart. Too smart. He called her bluff right away.

“Please.” Weiss begged, trying to appeal to his emotional side. “Please don't hurt her.”

“Her? It's just a flower, sweetie. A dying one at that. I'd be doing old red here a favor.”

“No, I won't let you!” Weiss shouted. The storm picked up, blowing the rain inside the room. Some got on Weiss' mirror, mildly obstructing her view. She didn't care though, she pounded on the glass. Just as she had done when she was first cursed. She tried to will another knight, just one more. 

But nothing came. 

The bowler wearing man got closer and closer to lifting the case off of Ruby, looking back at Weiss to see if she was looking. He was taunting her, he knew she couldn't do a thing, so he did everything as slow as possible. It was utter agony to Weiss. 

“Stop it! STOP IT!” She shrieked. More rain came in, but it was the tears that obstructed her vision more. She pounded on the glass as hard as she could, hoping that something would give. 

But it didn't.

“Wow, truly pathetic.” The man laughed. He moved faster now, fully intending on lifting the case.

“No! NO!” Weiss bellowed. “I LOVE HER!” 

Weiss saw a glow come from the edges of her mirror. She went to pound on the glass once again and found that... it wasn't there.

And then Weiss jumped.

She jumped right out of her mirror.

“What the f- How did you- I-” The man stammered, not believing his eyes. Weiss couldn't believe it either. She was free! The shock did not last for long though, she swiftly punched the man in the face, knocking him unconscious. 

Weiss looked around her. She could actually do that now, look around. It felt so nice to be free and normal but... everything looked backwards to her. 

_ Two years of being trapped in a mirror will do that to you.  _ Weiss supposed.

“Love was the key after all.” Weiss said, putting a hand on Ruby's case. “Yang! Maybe there's still time!”

Weiss pressed a kiss to the glass and ran off. A thought halted any further actions from the guard. Blake was gone, who was going to help her?

Then, right on cue, She heard a voice call from the entrance. 

“YANG! WHERE ARE YOU?” Blake shouted. A smile on her face and new-found hope, Weiss ran towards the entrance. She hoped that the path would be unobstructed. However, she caught a glimpse of three invaders. 

“Stupid mirrors, I thought we smashed 'em all!” A man with a scraggly orange beard shouted. He charged at Weiss with a small dagger. All her training came back to her and she side-stepped the man, pulling the hilt of her rapier out enough to hit him in the gut. She then grabbed his collar, yanked him up and sent an uppercut to his jaw. He reeled back and his buddies grabbed him, not peeling their eyes off of Weiss.

“S-she's real!” The man stuttered, spitting out blood. “She's not a mirror! She's real!”

They slowly backed up and she drew her rapier. She reveled in their surprise of her corporeal form. Honestly, her mirror knights were probably stronger then her. But they didn't know that. All they knew was that she had summoned ten knights from inside a mirror, what could she do outside of one. 

It made her smile. These men charged in, thinking they could take away all that was precious to her, damn right she was happy to scare them like this. So, in light of that, her smile turned sinister as she looked down at the three men with a mad look in her eyes.

“Would you care to be our guests?” She said in a sweet voice, pointing her rapier at them.

She was pretty sure the man with the scraggly beard peed himself at that.

**XxXxX**

“YANG!” Blake shouted, running further into the manor. It didn't look good. She heard the voices of Adam's men. They seemed to be running around, smashing the place up. All the windows seemed broken and bits of mirrors were scattered across the floor. 

Wait, mirror shards. Weiss. Blake looked for any intact mirror. 

None.

“Weiss! Weiss, are you alright?”

She never thought about what would happen if there were no mirrors for Weiss. What would happen to her? Would she cease to be? Oh she hoped that there was still one mirror somewhere in the manor. But the more shattered pieces she found, the more disheartened she became. They were targeting them, they knew what they were doing.

“Who is Weiss again?” Ghira asked. 

“The girl in the mirror. If they smashed all the mirrors, she might be... might be...” Blake couldn't bring herself to finish her sentence. But before she could wallow in the loss of her friend, three men ran past them screaming.

“How did she do that! I thought she was in the mirrors!” One man asked the other in a panic. They all ran out the front entrance. 

“AND STAY OUT!” Blake heard a familiar voice shout, coming closer to her. Closer? Weiss couldn't move outside of her mirrors. But when she turned around, there was Weiss. All of her, in the flesh. 

“Weiss?!” Blake asked. 

“Blake! You're back, thank Oum!” the ivory-haired girl ran down the stairs, slipping her rapier back into it's holster. 

“You're human!”

“You're... Still observant... As ever.” Weiss quipped sarcastically, catching her breath. She bent over, resting her hands on her thighs. “Sorry... Haven't had... physical exercise... in two years.”

“You know... I thought you'd be taller.” Blake said with a bemused smirk. “Maybe it was just the full-length mirror that tricked me.”

“Oh ha ha! The scholar is now... the comedian.”

“Yup, still the same Weiss.” Blake said. “But how is this possible. When I saw the smashed mirrors, I was afraid that something horrible had happened to you.”

“I was too. There was only one mirror left, the rose room. But then this... slime ball with an awful taste in hats came in. He was about to smash me, but then saw Ruby.”

“Did he...” 

“No! That's what broke me free! He was about to... about to...” Weiss tried to explain, but started crying just thinking about the scarring experience. “He tried to touch her, which would have killed her in the state that she is in. I begged him to stop, but he wouldn't!”

“What did you do?”

“I pounded on the glass, trying to break out. And then some raindrops fell on my mirror and... and I finally admitted my feelings for Ruby. I said that I loved her. And then just like that, I was bursting out of the mirror and knocking the vile man out.”

“How? I don't understand.”

“'Drops fall down', 'True love found'.” Weiss explained. “The enchantress was right. It's love! Love is the key! The drops of rain and a confession of love.”

“You found true love, Weiss!”

“I've had it for a while, I just never said it till now. I love her, Blake. I really do!” She said with excitement, grabbing Blake's hands. “And now, it's your turn! Go to Yang!”

“I-”

“No, maybes! No fear, Blake! I should know. I've been afraid of my feelings for years, but now is the time to act! It's now or never.”

“Leap of faith.” Ghira added. 

They were right. It was why she came back after all. It all seemed so simple now, what did she have to worry about.

“Alright, where is she?”

“She's in the dance hall... fighting with that man... Did I forget to mention that? Things have been a little crazy with the intruders and mirror knights and-”

“Weiss! Who is Yang fighting?”

“A man with red hair and a sword.”

That... was worrisome.

“Adam. We need to stop him before he hurts Yang!”

Four more men came running down the stairs in a frantic pace. Weiss looked ready to fight again, but they only seemed interested in escape. 

“I did NOT sign up to fight dragons and mirrors!” One of the cronies yelled back. 

“She must be fully transformed by now.” Weiss noted. “We don't have much time left! For Yang and Ruby!” 

The guard drew her rapier and waited for Blake to advance. It didn't take long, Blake started to run up the stairs as quick as she could. 

She wouldn't let Yang down again.


	10. True Monsters

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Changing is challenging, but for Yang it's hell. But it will all be over soon, she is certain. What she isn't sure of is if it will be for the better or the worse.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Blue here. Second to last chapter! You guys have been waiting for this one for a while and I hope you like it! Let me know what you think. Enjoy the Bees!

The final transformation hadn't been as painful as Yang expected it to be. Maybe it was the rage and adrenaline, but it was only a minor irritation in the middle of her fight. It did scare off the spectators they had gained. Some cronies of this man, ('Adam' she thought she heard him say?) had popped in to watch and assist the man. He, however, yelled at them saying 'the beast is mine!' or something like that. Well she didn't have to worry about them anymore though. Turns out they were just a bunch of cowards.

This man though? Adam? He was stubborn. She didn't know exactly what she looked like, but she could tell that she was much more ferocious than before. Walking on two feet was no longer and option, her body had grown far too long and large to handle her weight. And her neck was much longer, she noticed new muscles that weren't there before. Her tail was the length of her body now and helped her keep balance. And the wings, they had finally fully developed. They were large, too large to unfurl in a tiny space like this. It never did seem small before.

Then again, she was never this large.

The man kept attacking though, despite this change. It was hard to dodge his attacks now, there was no room to move. She found herself backed into a corner, only keeping him at bay with an occasional blast of fire, but she knew it wouldn't last for much longer. It wasn't exactly a feeling she could put into words, but Yang felt herself... running out of gas? Soon she would be forced to face the mad man.

But he wasn't the only mad one. Yang felt herself starting to slip. More and more violent thoughts came to her. Desires to burn this man alive, to tear him apart. Thoughts of a monster. But she wasn't one, not yet. She had time.

She just needed to end it before then.

“Fight, coward!” Adam shouted, dodging her last breath of fire and swinging his sword at her feet. She roared in pain and fell onto her stomach. She tried to get to her claws again, but the man put his sword right up against her throat. “You've been bested beast!”

He raised his sword to end it all. This was it. At least she didn't hurt anyone. She would be gone and the world would be safer for it. And she wouldn't be so alone. Ruby would be with her soon.

A tear rolled down her scaled face.

She braced herself for the plunge, hearing the man start to yell out.

“Get away from her!” A voice shouted, followed by a loud thump and an 'oof'. Yang opened her eyes to see a heavenly sight. A burnt out torch in hand and wearing a purple cloak, Blake Belladonna stood in front of her. Blake turned around and bent down to touch the dragon's face. Yang's face was about the size of Blake's torso now.

“Blake.” Yang said. At the sound of Yang saying her name, Blake smiled. “You came back.”

“Of course. You didn't think you could get rid of me that easily, did you?”

“I never wanted to get rid of you, Blake.”

“It's gonna be ok, Yang. I know the- Aaaah!”

Blake was suddenly yanked away forcibly.

“Sorry to interrupt this... touching reunion, but we have business to attend to.” The red-haired man sneered. He had Blake by her wrist and was twisting it above her head. She tried to swing with her other arm, but every time she did, he just twisted more, resulting in more pain.

“Aaah! Leave her alone, Adam!”

“And STILL you defend it? Do you see this thing?”

“Yes! And I see someone who is caring and compassionate to others. Can't say the same applies to you-aaah!” Spat Blake. Adam twisted more.

Yang felt her blood boil at the sight.

“Maybe you aren't as smart as I thought. Maybe you are just like those hicks.” Adam told Blake, forcing her to drop down to her knees as he gripped harder. But Blake, she just started laughing. “What's so funny?”

“The quote finally fits, Adam.‘He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a monster.’” She recited. “She's not the monster, you are!”

Adam let go of her wrist and took the back of his hand to her face.

That.

That is what set Yang off.

She slowly lifted herself off of the ground, shaking with pure rage. She didn't need a mirror to know that her eyes were crimson, burning with a desire to be the end of this man. Adam didn't notice, too focused on Blake. Good. She wanted him to be completely off guard. She wanted to see the blood drain from his face as she towered over him. He wanted a real fight with a monster? Fine, he was gonna get one.

“Here's what's gonna happen! I'm going to kill this monster, you are going to marry me, and... and...” He trailed off, noticing the ominous shadow that loomed. Yang swiped the man and sent him flying across the room. He attempted to draw his sword from his holster, but Yang was too swift for him, grabbing it in her large claws and bending in in half. Yang flicked it to the ground like a piece of crumpled paper.

He had not been prepared for that, he followed the trajectory with his eyes. While he was preoccupied, Yang swung her tail and knocked the man prone. The villain groaned and tried to roll over, but Yang wouldn't give him an inch. She pinned his body down with one claw and roared right in his face. And he...

He begged for his life.

“Please please PLEASE don't kill me! I-I'm sorry, I'll leave and never tell a soul what I saw! Just don't kill me!”

Now who was the coward?

Yang didn't care about his life though. In her mind he forfeited it the moment he hurt Blake and threatened Yang's family. He deserved far worse than this. He was a despicable man that no one would miss. Of course she would end him, she had to. She would listen to that voice in her head. The one that screamed at her to shred the man up, to make him suffer.

“Yang, don't!” Blake shouted, running closer to her head. A head that hovered maliciously over the scumbag's face.

“He's... He's dirt!” Yang growled. She was seriously defending him?

“I know, he's awful, Yang. But this... this isn't you.”

“What do you mean? Have you seen me?”

“Yes I have! I have seen your restraint and mercy too.” Blake said. “Have you seen yourself?”

“What?” Yang asked, turning to look at Blake. She had a shard of a mirror in her hands, holding it up to Yang. She didn't like what she saw. A dragon, a true beast with crimson eyes and a snarl that could kill just by looks alone. Shocked at her appearance, Yang shook her head, trying to dispel her rage. It took a minute to cool down, but she sighed in relief when she saw a cool lilac return to her eyes.

“There, this is you, Yang. You are no monster, don't stoop to his level.” Blake said, reaching out a hand and caressing the side of her scaled face. Yang leaned in and slumped her shoulders. She turned back to the man she had pinned to the floor. Reluctantly, she lifted her claw and let him slip out from her firm grip.

“Thank you! Thank you thank yo-”

“JUST!” Yang yelled. Her eyes were red again, she could tell. Taking a second to calm herself, she took a breath and then glared at him with an intensely calm expression. “Leave before I change my mind.” He nodded his head emphatically, scrambling to his feet.

Yang then turned her attention back to Blake. She trotted over towards her, overjoyed that she had come back for her. Maybe she really did love her after all. Maybe-

“Yang, look out!” She heard someone shout behind her. A quick turn of her neck revealed that Adam was on the attack again, but this time he had brought out his musket.

“I didn't want to use this, because I thought it would be dishonorable to kill a beast such as you with a musket, but as long as I get the job done, who's to judge?” He said, aiming in Yang's direction. Yang turned her back in response, trying to protect Blake from the shot. But just as he pulled the trigger, a familiar looking ivory-haired girl in armor rushed him, redirecting his shot up at the ceiling. “You little pest!”

He knocked the girl back and she scurried far away from him. He got ready to aim again, but heard something shift above him. Everyone, Adam included, looked up. The shot had managed to hit the anchor point of the chandelier that Adam stood beneath. The entire thing came crashing down on top of him, putting an end to the hunter named Adam.

XxXxX

Blake wrapped herself around Yang's left arm after the chandelier fell. While it was true that she never cared for the man, she wished that it hadn't come to this. Yang gently rested her right claw across Blake's back. She could probably pick her up if she wanted to, her claws were that big.

“Blake! If we're going to do this, we better do it soon.” Weiss stepped forward to say.

“Wait, Weiss? You're free?” Yang asked in disbelief.

“It's a long story, one we don't have time for.”

“She's right. Come on, let's hurry.” Blake said, gesturing for her to follow her after fastening her father's cloak back around her neck (which now looked like a mini bib on her). They had to make it to the entrance, it was the only place big enough to let Yang outside. It wasn't too far away, but Yang's new size made it more of a challenge. She squeezed and squirmed to the best of her abilities, blindly following Blake. Blindly trusting Blake. The raven-haired girl glanced back a few times to make sure she was still behind her. She kept up for the most part, but that wasn't what concerned her. The concerning part was that her eyes kept flashing to that same crimson. She shook her head to get rid of it, but it started happening more and more frequently.

“Yang, are you alright?” Blake stopped to ask when the red wouldn't seem to go away.

“I'm... Fine.” She said, her voice started to sound more raspy and distorted. “Keep... Going.” With one more shake, lilac came back and Blake continued on.

Finally, they reached the landing of the grand staircase. The entrance was in sight and Blake's heart leapt at the sight. There it was! She could save Yang! All it would take is one last sprint to the end. She ran as fast as she could, nearly tumbling down the stairs from her frantic pace. She smiled and pulled open the doors.

Then, a gnawing pit of despair lodged itself into her gut, twisting and gnarling as she took in the sight before her.

There was no more rain.

Not a single drop.

The storm had blown over and now there was no way to cure Yang.

No way to save her.

“No.” Blake whispered. “No no NO!” Blake's voice raised. She didn't want to do it, but she brought herself to turn around and look at Yang. She looked confused, she couldn't seem to speak anymore either. She tried to ask what was happening, but it only came out as strangled growls. Weiss, however, knew exactly what this meant. She cast her gaze down, defeated. Like she had failed them. She hadn't though, Blake did. If she wasn't so afraid of how she felt. If she had just told Yang about what the enchantress said. If she had just been honest with herself and Yang. Blake was full of 'ifs' and they all pointed the blame at her.

“Raaaoww?” Yang asked, sadness showing in her draconic eyes.

“I... I'm sorry, Yang. There's no more rain. I neede-”

Bing-bong bing-bong, bong-bing bing-bong.

A clock sounded from somewhere in the manor. It was midnight and she was too late.

“No! I'm not ready! Please stay with me Yang!” Blake pleaded, looking into her lilac orbs. “Please don't go! Don't take her from me!”

Yang's eyes were filled with fear and desperation as she fought to remain with Blake.

“K-keep looking at m-me Yang! F-fight it! You're st-strong!” Blake feebly blubbered, hoping that her words would stave off the worst.

They were not enough though, and Yang was not strong enough to fight it. She roared in pain, shutting her eyes. Her head shook from side to side as she fought to stop it, fought to stay. She squirmed and clenched her claws, digging into the tile. She was fighting for dear life.

But then, she got very still. The erratic jerky motion from before had stopped, and now, she moved smoothly. Yang was never smooth, she always looked awkward, like a toddler who had just learned how to walk. Now, her neck swiveled to the front in one swooping motion.

“Yang?” Blake whimpered. The beast formerly known as Yang opened its eyes. They were crimson, and had no human understanding anymore. It scrutinized Blake, squinting and leaning forward to get a better look. It seemed to deem her as not a threat and raised it's head back up. It was about to turn around and head back into the manor, but Blake could not contain herself. She crashed into the beast's right front leg.

“Blake!” Ghira yelled, fearing for her daughter's safety. The dragon growled at the sudden contact, reading it as an aggressive attack. “She's gone! You could get hurt!”

“I don't care!” Blake yelled back, tears streaming from her face. “I'm gonna be here for her, even if she doesn't remember me, even if the enchantress turns me into a potted plant or a foot stool! I don't care!”

“Raaaaa!” The beast roared, trying to shake Blake off. She would not let go though. She couldn't let go.

Leap of faith.

“DO YOU HEAR ME, YANG! YOU BIG LUG!” She shouted at the beast. “I told you before and I'll tell you again! You can't get rid of me so easily! I'm not leaving you ever again!”

“RAAAAA!” Yang let out an even louder roar than before, right in Blake's face. Her hair was blown back from the force of it, but she would not let that stop her.

“I won't ever let you go again! It was a mistake! It was a mistake because... Because...” Blake stammered. She started crying even harder, knowing that she never got to say this to Yang when she was herself. But it was better late than never. “Because I love you! I love you so much, Yang!”

She buried her face into the dragon's scaled arm, expecting another roar from her. She was, instead, very still. A light started to emanate from her scales, growing hotter and hotter. Blake found that she could no longer physically hold on to Yang anymore. If she held on any longer, she would be burnt up. Stepping back, she could see that the light had started from the arm that she had held and spread across her whole body. Then, in a flash, fire engulfed her form, burning so bright that Blake had to shield her eyes. When it was all over with, Yang was gone. And only her father's cape remained, bundled up on the ground.

She was... She was gone.

She hadn't just turned into a beast. Now that beast was gone too. Blake walked over to the cloak, weeping. She fell to her knees, weakly clutching at the edge of the cloak. Yang was gone, she was just...

“Mmm.” The cloak seemed to say. Blake's amber eyes snapped back up to the piece of cloth. It was moving, shifting around as if something was under it. Or someone. She held her breath as she watched a hand slid out from underneath it. Not a claw, a human hand. Another one slipped out on the other side and the two grabbed the edges of the cloth. Slowly, they pulled it down.

Underneath the cloth was a girl. And she had to be one of the most beautiful girl's Blake had ever seen in her life. Long golden locks, delicate facial features, plump lips; Blake couldn't peel her eyes away. But where was Yang? Who was this girl?

Said girl clenched her eyes before opening them, just like one would after waking up from a deep sleep. Blake watched as she lifted one of her hands in front of her vision and her eyes widened. She examined the other one too, even more excited this time. A smile started to tug on her lips and tears started to form in her eyes. She sat up, pulling the cloak up with her. She slapped her hands on her face, feeling around and laughing. Her smile kept getting larger the more she examined.

But when she set her eyes on Blake, it grew to full brightness.

“Blake! Blake, it's me!” The girl said, putting a hand on her throat in confusion. Yet, she still continued on. “It's Yang! I'm Yang!”

Yang? This was Yang? But how? She didn't even have the raindrops. The enchantress said 'when drops fall down'...

Her tears. She said drops, but she never said which kind. But how could she really know if this girl was in fact Yang? Besides both sharing the same blonde hair, what could she use to really know.

Her eyes. Blake stared deep into this girl's eyes, searching for the beast she knew. She would know those lilac orbs anywhere, those were Yang's.

“It... It is you!” Blake exclaimed, scooting closer to grab Yang's hands. Both girls were crying now, but it didn't stop Yang from leaning forward and pulling Blake into a passionate kiss. And Blake reciprocated right away, pouring all of the love she was so afraid to show before.

“Hey, don't cry.” Yang said as they pulled away from the kiss.

“You should talk, you big baby.” Blake said, snickering and sniffling. “And these are tears of happiness, I assure you.”

“Me too.”

Blake laughed through her tears, still staring deeply into Yang's eyes.

“I love you, Blake.” Yang admitted.

“I love you too.”

“I'm human!” Yang giggled, kicking her legs in excitement.

“You're human.” Blake confirmed.

“You're naked.” Weiss dully noted.

“I'm naked.” Yang said with a smile, but soon realized what she was saying. “I'm naked! Oh Oum, I really am naked.” She pulled the cloak up more, feeling more self conscious. Blake giggled at the girl's sudden revelation. She pulled off her own cloak and wrapped that around her as well. She staggered to her feet with the help of Blake, she didn't seem used to this form just yet. Then, after giving Blake a smile that melted her heart all over again, something seemed to catch her eye on the grand staircase.

“Ruby.” Yang breathed, her eyes watering once again. Blake turned to see who everyone now seemed to be staring at. Atop the stairs was a petite young woman who had on a simple red and black dress (though she seemed to outgrow it a bit). She looked much like she did in her misty form, but this time, Blake took note of her large silver eyes. They too were crying along with everyone else in the room. Her gaze flicked to Yang, a smile growing. It then flicked over to Weiss, and she looked as though she was going to break down into sobs from her joy. She gave Yang another look, as if she was asking permission for something. Blake heard Yang chuckle and saw her nod her head from the corner of her eye.

“Have your moment, Ruby. You deserve it.” Yang spoke, even though she knew Ruby wouldn't hear it.

A second later, she was bounding down the stairs and flinging herself into Weiss' arms. And Weiss squeezed the girl with all of her might, twirling her in the air. Ruby was laughing and crying, kicking her legs as she was spun around.

“Spin, spin, spin.” She sang. “Gotcha.” She finished as Weiss set her down. They then shared a kiss, one they had both waited for for two years.

When they broke apart, Ruby ran over to Yang. She crashed into her with a large hug like she used to. But this time, Yang was prepared. She got low to the ground just as the girl in red was about to make contact and scooped the girl up. She lifted her up with her hug, squeezing tightly.

“Huuuah, Yang... Can't... Breathe...” Ruby said. Yang let her down and used her hand to mess up her hair. “Yaaaaang.”

“Hey, I'm making up for lost time. I didn't get to do big sister stuff for two years.”

“You stopped doing that a lot longer than that, Yang.” Ruby answered honestly, sounding a little hurt. Ouch, a little harsh. Yet Yang didn't seem too phased by it.

“Then I'm making up for that too.” Yang said. “Words cannot express how sorry I am, Ruby. I was an idiot. But I promise that I will be the best big sister I can be from now on. Spending time together, piggyback rides, parties for just us, you name it. Cause I love you, Rubes.”

“I love you too, Yang.” Ruby said, giving her a more gentle hug this time. “And I'm holding you to that piggyback ride offer.”

“I think I can manage.”

“And Blake!” Ruby shouted. She broke away from Yang and hugged her too, surprising the Raven-haired girl. Blake looked over to Yang, but the blonde simply shrugged with a small smirk. “You saved my sister, thank you.”

“Happy to help, I guess?” Blake replied, not sure what else to say.

“Now this is what I was hoping for.” A new voice announced. Everyone turned and saw the enchantress standing there in all of her glory. Yang shrank away marginally, Blake assumed that she was worried she would do worse to her now. “No need to fear, Yang. I am merely here to congratulate all of you. That and repair all that has been done here.”

Glynda brought out her crop wand and twirled it in the air. Blake looked around in awe as all the shattered mirrors reassembled themselves and were put back on the walls in an orderly manner. Soon, the manor started to look as it did during Blake's time here. But it didn't stop there. Then, the manor felt so much more lively. The cobwebs disappeared and the whole manor looked as though it was just thoroughly cleaned.

Back to its former glory, Blake supposed.

“That's better.” She said, looking pleased with herself. Her eyes then locked onto Yang once again. She flinched, but Blake was there to grab her hand. She was here, and she wasn't going anywhere. “Now, you have learned your lesson, right Yang?”

“Y-yes, yes I have.” Yang answered. “Kindness and love. That's what I was missing.”

Glynda smiled, and relaxed marginally.

“I'm glad to hear it. Now, you can't simply walk around naked like that can you?” She said with a smile. Yang tried to fasten the cloaks tighter together at that, yet before she could, she brought her crop out again and pointed it at Yang. Yang's eyes widened with fear once more. Magical sparkles swirled around her and got underneath the cloaks. When they unhooked, she was wearing an outfit similar to the one that she had on for the ball she had with Blake. The only difference was that it was more form-fitting, showing off her feminine curves. Even her hair was brought into the low ponytail like she had before. “Hmm, perhaps for you three as well...”

One by one, she flung magic to Ruby, Weiss and Blake. Ruby's dress grew to fit her... more developed body better. The girl let out a breath of relief, the dress was apparently restricting some of her breathing. Weiss' face turned red as her armor was replaced with a pearl colored dress with a blue sash in the middle. It shimmered and reflected slightly in the light. Ruby seemed happy with these changes, grabbing onto Weiss and kissing her cheek.

Blake's meek dress turned into a dress that, like Yang, was much like the dress she wore to their ball. But this time, it was trimmed with black bows, tying the tulle layer up in bunches that rippled down. When that was over Yang sauntered over to her and grabbed her hand.

“Looks like my work here is done.” Glynda said. “Don't forget what you have learned, Yang. I would hate to come back here and teach it to you all over again.”

“I won't ma'am, you don't have to worry.” Yang assured her.

“Good.” Glynda said, getting ready to leave. “Oh and before I go, I must tell you something. There may be some... leftover side effects from my curse. Nothing too bad, annoying at most.”

“Wait what?” Yang said, looking back a the enchantress, but she was gone. “Side effects?”

“I'm sure it'll be fine, Yang.” Blake said, gripping her hand tighter to calm her down.

“Heh, yeah. Y-you're probably right.” Yang told her, still looking nervous.

“Ahem.” A masculine voice cleared his throat. Blake's father walked over to Yang, towering over her this time. If Blake thought she was nervous before, now Yang just looked terrified.

“Uuuum, Hello, sir. Nice to officially meet you, sir. I am reeeeeally sorry, sir. I didn't mean to lock you up, sir. Well... I did... but I thought I had to, sir. See... my sister was a rose...” Yang rambled as fast as she could, trailing off at the end when she realized how terribly she was failing.

“I know all about the curse, Yang Xiao Long. Blake filled me in.” Ghira said in a very unamused tone.

“Right! Yes! The curse! But it's n-no excuse for what I did and I am truly sorry, sir.”

“You love my daughter?”

“Y-yes, sir.” Yang said, her voice cracking.

“You promise to take treat her well?”

“Daaad.” Blake complained.

“Of course!” Yang said with conviction. “Honestly, she deserves better than me. But that doesn't mean I won't do anything in my power to make her as happy as possible.”

Ghira seemed to like that answer. He folded his hairy arms and smirked.

“Alright then, we're good.”

“We're good? Really? I mean... We're good.” Yang said with glee, bouncing at Ghira's approval. She turned to Blake. “We're good, Blake!”

Blake rolled her eyes.

“You are a huge dork.”

“Yeah, but I'm not a 'monster' dork.”

“No, no more puns!” Blake groaned.

“I can't help it, you keep 'dragon' them out of me.”

“That's it, I'm out.”

“No, Blake! Don't 'bee' like that!”

Blake stopped her dramatic exit and gave Yang a confused look. She knew that the blonde had made a terrible pun (the mirth on her face was enough evidence), but she didn't quite understand that one.

“What?”

“You know. Bees? Cause my hair is yellow, and yours is black.” She explained. “Black and yellow. Bees?”

“Uuuuugh.”

“Get it?”

“Why?”

“GET IT?” Yang shouted, giggling at her awful jokes.

“I get it, Yang!” She said, putting her face into her hands. “What did I sign myself up for?”

Yang walked over to her, pried her hands off of her face and looked deeply into her amber eyes.

“A lifetime of happiness.” Yang said softly. “And the occasional joke or two.”

“Occasional?”

“Alright, frequent.” Yang acquiesced. “I can't guarantee that our lives will be pain free, I can't promise that there won't be problems. But I can promise that I will do everything in my power to make you the happiest and most loved girl in all the world. Because I love you with all my heart.”

They looked into each others eyes and felt something pull them closer together. They were mere inches away from each others, lips tantalizingly close.

“Hate to break the mood, but I think I speak for both Ruby and myself when I say that we need food.” Weiss called out to them. “We haven't eaten in two years, you know.”

“Yeah!” Ruby agreed, nodding her head with new found vigor. “And I think sooomeoooone promised me as many cookies as I wanted.”

“Of course you remembered THAT!” Yang called back. Ruby laughed and stuck her tongue out. Yang matched her, laughing heartily. When she turned back to Blake, her hand found its way to Blake's once again. “Would you like to prepare a late meal with me?”

“Nothing would make me happier.”

Blake smiled and pulled Yang in for their second kiss. The second of many more to come.


	11. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Curses broken, lives saved, happiness restored. Now all that's left is words of love and moments of growth.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys! Blue here with the last chapter!! Woooo hooo! Sorry it took so long to let this one out, but I hope you guys enjoy the conclusion to this story. Shout out to Mew Shadowfang for the idea of having side effects and another shout out to my friend who helped me develop this story!! Y'all rock. And thanks to you guys! For all of your support! I love you all. Enjoy the Bees!

 

“All I'm saying is that we have no idea what my side effect will be? What if it's the wings? Or, or, or the claws. That would make things pretty difficult.” Yang rambled at the dinner table. It had been a couple days since Yang's birthday, and the three girls were still readjusting to human life again. Ghira had gone back to his home in the village. He told Blake that he had just been hit with inspiration and that he had to finish the book as soon as he could. 'While it's still jumbling around in my mind' he said. He promised he would be back in time for their celebration. 

It might have been two days, but now that everyone could find the manor, they all learned the truth of the manor and the curse the three girls had been under. News spread fast and luckily, their uncle had been in the area and heard of this tale. He rushed over to see for himself. When the curse was in place, he could never find the manor since he was always looking for it. He had driven himself a bit mad searching and had unfortunately turned to alcohol to deal with the grief of losing the only family he had left. Yang and Ruby were both shocked to see what had become of the man. He was much skinnier then before, and looked very ragged, tired and reeked of booze. Still, they gave him a warm welcome. 

The man offered both girls so many beautiful and expensive gifts, 'to make up for lost time' as he said. But they turned him down. He practically begged them to take something, so they both agreed to a party. A celebration of their return. Well, in Yang's mind, it was a celebration of Ruby's return and nothing more. She did deserve it after all. 

After his arrival, he started really bringing the manor back to the way it used to be. He summoned the guards that used to defend them, the maids that used to clean for them, and the servants who used to cook for them. It was nice to have them back but... It was also strange. Maybe it was the fact that Yang had gotten used to only having three people in the large estate (ok, well technically only one since Weiss was in a mirror and Ruby was a rose). The staff scolded her for doing their jobs for them. She would go in the kitchen and prepare a meal for everyone, clean the dishes when she was done, and put everything away nice and neat. 

Qrow asked her if she was feeling alright more than once. 

The four girls were eating a meal that Yang and Blake had made together. Yang was actually getting quite good in the kitchen, the pair worked seamlessly in tandem. They were all eating some sort of cheese based pasta concoction that the duo had created. 

“Don't worry so much, I'm sure it will be fine.” Blake told her, she took a small bite of her meal.

“Well Ruby's and Weiss' showed up already!” Yang exclaimed. “What about mine?”

Ruby laughed and continued eating away at the food on her plate.

“It won't be bad, Yang. Maybe it will be helpful!” Ruby said.

“Oh yeah, like shedding rose petals helps?”

“It helps for later at night.” Ruby mumbled.

“Ruby!” Weiss shrieked, her face as red as Ruby's dress. 

“Kidding kidding!” She defended. “But Weiss' is actually pretty awesome. And it comes in handy too.”

“Yeah, I bet Weiss just loves it, especially when you were getting ou-” 

“Yang!” Weiss cut her off before she could finish. Weiss' side effect was a bit complicated. If she looked in a mirror and thought of someone else, she could view them through that mirror, and they could see her. She had the unfortunate circumstance of figuring this out when she was thinking about Ruby... as Ruby was stepping out of a shower. 

Yang vowed to never let her live it down.

Ever.

“Ok ok! It is useful.” Yang said, shoveling food into her mouth in between sentences. “But I was the one who started this whole thing. What if I get that snout again? Or the scraggly hair” Yang shuddered.

“Then I would still love you.” Blake said, smiling warmly at her.

“Really?”

“Of course! I fell in love with you while you were a dragon, remember?”

“I know, I know.” Said Yang. “It's still nice to hear.”

“Maybe you've just kept the same manners at the dinner table as the beast.” Weiss quipped with a smirk.

“Oh ha ha.” Yang deadpanned, her mouth full of food.

“Seriously, Yang. If you don't slow down, you are going to give yourself indigestion.” Weiss chided, taking note of the speed of her food intake.

“I'll be fi-” Yang started, but felt a pain in her chest. “Ooof.”

“I told you.”

“No, I'm fine. I think it's just... just-” Yang started. “BUUUUURP!” 

A stream of fire flew out... along with her table manners.

“Well, excuse you.” Weiss quipped.

“Fire breath. I have the fire breath.” Yang said in disbelief. Then, she slumped in her chair, relieved. “It's just fire breath.”

“You aren't upset?” Blake asked.

“Are you kidding me? That was the best part about being a dragon.” She exclaimed. “And it's better then some weird looking wings that probably wouldn't even work.”

Blake slung her arm around Yang's shoulder and rubbed her back affectionately.

“Besides.”Yang started with a smile cheesier than the dish they were currently eating. 

“Oh dear.” Weiss said in anticipation.

“Nope.” Ruby joined in, covering her face with her hands.

“Yang, please don-”

“Don't you think it's kind of... Hot?” She said, pointing two finger guns at Blake. 

All three girls groaned at the pun that they saw coming a mile away.

**XxXxX**

Later that day, Blake found herself in the library once more. She sat in her chair (She had basically claimed it at this point) and for once, read a book for pleasure rather then research. It felt so nice to be in this room and not have to worry so much what she was reading, if it gave her any important information, or if it was crucial to breaking the curse. She was entirely relaxed and just enjoying her book in peace and quiet.

She WAS enjoying it in peace and quiet, until...

“Raaaaaar.” A clearly human voice attempted to roar. Yang ran into the library with her arms over her head, curled like massive claws. “I am the affection monster! You will pay the toll or pay the consequences!” 

“Yang, I'm reading.” Blake said, hardly sparing the girl a second glance. 

“Consequences it is then.” Yang said, still using her ridiculous monster voice. She marched over to Blake, scooped her up off of her chair (which caused Blake to let out a surprised squeal), and sat back down with Blake in her lap. “Ha ha! Now the affection monster has you!”

“Yang, you know you aren't a beast anymore, right?”

“Pssh. The affection monster is much more than that puny dragon.” Yang boasted with a fake evil laugh. “Now you MUST pay attention to me. All part of my devious plan.” 

“You realize your error though, right?” 

“And what is that, mortal?”

“I can still read my book like this.” Blake said, holding up her book. As if to demonstrate, she brought the book back up and started to read again.

“Noooooooo! Foiled again!” Yang bellowed.

Blake smirked at her cry, but chose to say nothing. She was curious to see how long it would take the blonde to bother her again.

“Blaaaaaake.” Yang said five minutes later, dropping the monster act. 

“Yes, affection monster?” Said Blake cheekily. She lowered her book, and gave Yang half a smirk.

“I'm boooooooored. I need affection.”

“Well I am reading a book right now, so maybe later.” Blake teased. She was actually at a perfect place to stop, but she wanted to see how far Yang would take this.

“But you still haven't paid the toll, Blake.”

“What toll.”

“The toll people with the name 'Blake Belladonna' have to pay in this manor.”

“How come I've never heard of this before.”

“It's recent. You know, new management and all.”

“Uh-huh.” Blake said, placing her book in the chair next to her. Yang smiled brighter, knowing she now had her girlfriend's full attention. “And why is it only for 'Blake Belladonna'?”

“Because then they would run rampant!” Yang exclaimed in false urgency. “They would read all the books! And eat all the tuna!”

“Hey, I wouldn't eat ALL of the tuna.”

“Yeah, because there's only one of you! And you've been paying the toll already to keep them away. Imagine, though, seven Blakes running around here. It would be anarchy!”

“Would you really mind that though?”

“I... Uh... Well actually no...” Yang admitted with a little chuckle. “But that's not the point!”

“Ok ok, so what is this toll?”

“Weeeeellll, I am the affection monster soooo... I think yo-” 

Yang was cut off by Blake pressing her lips against hers. She slowly deepened the kiss, tugging a bit on the blonde's lower lip and prodding with her tongue slightly. But just as Yang tried to push in with her tongue as well, Blake pulled away with a coy smile. 

“I believe that I have paid in full.” She said, picking her book back up and resuming her previous task.

“You tease.” Yang growled.

Blake, living up to that name, ignored Yang.

“Blaaaaaake.”

She tried to.

“Blaaaaaaaaaaaaaaake.”

Oh, she really REALLY tried to.

“Blaaaaaaaaaaa-”

“What?”

“Pay attention to meeeeeee.” Yang whined, nuzzling Blake's neck with her nose.

“You weren't this needy when you needed help breaking the curse, you know.”

“Well I never knew that I needed you.”

Blake felt her cheeks heat up at that. She decided to indulge Yang a bit and snuggled in closer to her.

But that did not seem to satiate her desires. 

“I'm getting bored, I'm just gonna take you outside now.” Yang said, hooking the arm that was over Blake's stomach, under the bookworm's knees. 

“What? Yang, no!” Blake said as she realized what the blonde was planning.

“Too late.” She sang as she lifted Blake up and began to carry her out of the room. 

“Sometimes I forget that you are still quite strong as a human.” Blake commented, not even fighting the girl anymore. “Not as intimidating though.”

“Hey, I can be intimidating.” Yang defended. As if to demonstrate, she opened her mouth and chomped down hard just mere inches away from Blake's nose.

“Not the same without the massive jaw and razor sharp teeth, hun.”

“Maybe.” Yang agreed. “But I couldn't do this before.”

And with that, Yang pulled Blake's head forward for another passionate kiss.

“That... Is certainly a plus.” Blake said with a grin, draping her arms around the blonde's neck.

**XxXxX**

The grand hall was bustling with party goers, all laughing and dancing merrily. Atop the stairs, Yang Xiao Long made her way to join the festivities. She was late once again and she felt terrible about it. She was the host after all, she shouldn't be late to her own party. But she did have some business to attend to with her uncle. After they had discussed the issue, they came to an agreement and Yang was eager to tell Blake about it. Before she could make it all the way down to the party, however Qrow stopped her. 

“Hey, kid!” He called after her. “You really have changed, haven't you?”

Yang smiled upon hearing that and turned back to him.

“I really have.”

He seemed satisfied with this and slunk away to the study. He was never one for parties anyway. Looking out at the sea of people, Yang saw some familiar faces, but could not remember their names. She would have to remedy that problem later as she mingled with them. 

But, even though she was hosting this party, she wanted to remind people that this was not a party for her. It was a party for Ruby. She wanted to celebrate her sister who was so selfless all those years ago, not her simply fixing her own mistake. Ruby and Weiss, they were the brave ones. Yang just learned a lesson.

Besides, even if she did deserve a reward, she more than got one with Blake.

Speaking of which, she was finally able to spot the raven-haired girl dancing away with Ruby. Yang glanced around to try and find Weiss. She was by the side of the dance hall, trying not to look jealous... and doing an awful job. 

“Oooh, I get it.” Yang voiced her thoughts aloud. Weiss probably refused to dance with Ruby out of embarrassment and honor and the rest of that guard crap. Then, Blake (who she learned could be quite devious as of late) stepped in and offered to dance with Ruby. All to get Weiss on the dance floor. 

Well Weiss' stubborn streak was still going strong and Yang wanted to be the one dancing with Blake tonight. They hadn't danced since the personal ball they threw when she was still a beast, she wanted to show her how well she could dance now that she had her old form back. 

So Yang sauntered over to Weiss with a plan. 

“Hey, Weiss.”

“Hello, Yang.”

“Why aren't you dancing?”

“A guard must always be vigilant and-”

“Weiss, come on. We have other guards for that tonight.” Yang said, pointing out the guards posted by the door.

“But-”

“No buts. Just dance with me.”

“You?”

“Yes me.” Yang said, holding out a hand. “Come on, it'll be fun.”

“Yang.”

“Not taking no for an answer, Weiss. You may be stubborn, but so am I.” Yang argued. “I'll wait here all night if I have to.”

“What about Blake?” Weiss said, crossing her arms.

“Well she seems to be enjoying herself with Ruby, right?” Yang teased with a smirk. Weiss visibly bristled at that and glanced over at the other pair.

_ Got her! _ Yang thought in celebration.

“Fine.” Weiss agreed, taking her hand. Yang pulled her out to the dance floor and fell in step with the music. And Weiss... She actually had wonderful rhythm, matching Yang perfectly. Not as perfect as Blake felt, but she couldn't deny that Weiss was actually a great dancer.

“Wow, Weiss! Where did you learn to dance?”

“Sh-shut up.”

“And eloquent too. Ruby's a lucky girl.”

“I will step on your feet with my heels and it will hurt.”

“Alright, truce truce.” Yang chuckled. She glanced over to Blake and they both seemed to share the same idea. Both dancing closer and closer together, both Yang and Blake spun their respective partners, let go, and pushed them both forward into each other. Then the pair fell into step with each other and danced away before the guard could yell at them. 

“Nicely done.” Yang complimented. 

“Couldn't have done it without your push.” Blake said with a warm and loving smile. They both glanced over to see the pair awkwardly dancing, blushes coating their faces. “Honestly, you think they would be comfortable dancing together at this point.”

“It's Weiss, she has this whole 'I must be a guard and nothing more' kind of thing.”

Blake shook her head at the pair. 

“I'm glad you aren't like that.”

“Nope, I'm just obnoxious.” 

“Obnoxiously wonderful.”

The world melted away as Yang stared into Blake's eyes. It was like she was drowning in honey, sweet and warm. 

“Well, well, well. Yang Xiao Long. It's so nice to see you again.” A smooth taunting voice infiltrated her ears. She stiffened a bit and couldn't bring herself to look over until she saw Blake turn her head and furrow her eyebrows in confusion.

Beside them was Cinder, Emerald, and Mercury. They wore friendly smiles, but she knew how artificial they actually were. The warm from before started to chill as the sting of betrayal and regret started to consume Yang all over again. Just seeing them again, in this hall, it brought back who she used to be. What an awful person she was. What awful people they were. How they left her to rot away in this manor without a second thought. 

Then, the cold started to ebb away as soon as she felt a hand grab her own and squeeze it tightly. She looked back over to Blake and saw a concerned expression on her face. Yang smiled, remembering that she HAD in fact changed. She wasn't that person anymore, so these people did not have power over her. 

Not anymore.

“Hello Cinder, Emerald, Mercury.” Yang finally greeted. She gripped Blake's hand a bit tighter, finding it a source of power for her in that moment. “It's been a while.”

“Yes, it has. Glad to see you are no longer a beast. It truly would have been a shame to let all that beauty go to waste.” Cinder said, stepping forward to run a hand through Yang's hair in an overly-familiar gesture. Before she could however, Yang felt Blake take a possessive step forward as warning. “Who's the bodyguard, Yang?” Cinder smirked, gesturing to Blake.

Yang's blood started to simmer at the thought of her doing anything to ruin what she had with Blake. 

“Her name is Blake, she's the love of my life.” Yang simply stated. 

“Dramatic much?” Mercury scoffed. “And what gives, you don't even seem happy to see us. We came back after all.”

“When it suited you.” Yang mumbled.

“Hey, can you really blame us? You were a monster.” Emerald defended. 

Blake took another step towards the group, but Yang squeezed her hand again. She glanced over and gave her a small smile. 

_ This is my fight, let me handle it. _ Yang tried to express without words.

“What do you want?” Yang asked, turning back to face them.

“We came to see our friend, we wanted to see for ourselves your magical transformation. This is a party celebrating your return, correct?” Said Cinder.

“No, the party is to celebrate Ruby's return, not mine.”

“The little tag-along? You're serious?”

“Yes, I am.” Yang stated. “Now I suggest you finish your drink, mingle with some guests and then leave. I think that you'll find these parties are no longer suited to your tastes.”

“My my, you have changed. All grown up and mature.” Cinder mocked. “What changed you?”

“She did.” Yang said, pulling Blake closer to her side. “And if your not careful, you could end up like me, or worse.”

“Is that a threat?” Emerald piped in.

“No, it's a warning. If you don't learn the important things in life, someone might come along and teach you the hard way.”

“And what are these important things?” Cinder seethed.

“Love, compassion, kindness. They are so much more important than beauty and other vain things we concern ourselves with.”

“Uggh, I think that enchantress cursed her to be sappy too.” Mercury groaned.

“It appears we aren't welcome here.” Cinder told her cronies. “Come on, let's go.”

They began to leave.

“Wouldn't want to stick around a party for that brat anyways. She should have just stayed a rose.”

Yang felt her blood full on boil. She let go of Blake's hand, stomped over to the boy and spun him around.

“Listen up, you pompous self-important jerk. You can insult me all you want, call me a monster, disgusting, sappy. I couldn't care less.” She spat with cold ferocity. She then grabbed his collar and pulled him closer. “But you insult my sister or anyone else I care about... And I'll show you what a true monster is.” 

And for the first time since knowing the boy, Yang saw fear written all over his face. He scampered off to the others as soon as she released him. Apparently the display had frightened all of them, they seemed to walk much quicker to the exit. As soon as she saw them leave through the main doors, Yang returned to Blake, still heated from the interaction.

“Are you alright?” Blake asked.

“Yeah, it's just... They remind me of who I used to be.”

“But you aren't that person anymore. You know that right?”

“I know, I know.” Yang said, finally feeling calm again. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Blake told her. “And it looks like there is another little side effect after all.”

“What?”

“Your eyes. They still turn red when you're mad.”

“They do?” Yang asked, looking about to find some reflective surface. 

“They are lilac again, don't worry.” Blake giggled. 

“That makes sense, I can't be mad around you.”

“You know, he was right about one thing. You are very sappy now.”

“Is that such a bad thing?” Yang asked, a little nervous. Blake dashed those fears away when she stepped forward and pulled her closer for a small kiss.

“Not at all.”

**XxXxX**

The party when on late into the night. They all danced the night away until the music stopped. Everyone cleared the dance floor and thanked their hosts before departing. 

Two people, however, did not stop when the music did. Blake and Yang remained on the dance floor, lost in each others eyes and their own internal music. The same one that they danced to in their private ball. But this time there was no sadness. It wasn't bittersweet and painful. They were warm and content. And they weren't pressed for time. In fact, they felt like they had all the time in world.

“So, I was just talking with my uncle.” Yang told Blake as their dancing slowed down to more of a sway.

“Hmm?”

“So, I sort of asked him.. If he would mind looking after the manor.”

“Why would you need him to do that?”

“Well... I was thinking... I've been trapped here for two years and I was too young to travel before the curse... So I thought that maybe... We could travel somewhere?”

“Travel?” Blake asked, her eyes widening.

“I mean, if you want to! I won't go if you don't want to. But I figured that it would be nice if we could see the world... together.”

“Yes!” Blake eagerly answered. She coughed to regain her composure. “Yes, I would love that.”

“Excited, are we?” Yang asked, her lips twisting into a smirk.

“Sorry. I've always wanted to travel. To experience new things. New is good, after all.”

“Aaah, tale as new as time...” Yang hummed before shaking her head in dissatisfaction. “Nah, something doesn't sound right about that.”

“We'll workshop it.” Blake said with a giggle. She then led the blonde to the table where the drinks were served. After rummaging through the discarded bottles, she finally found one unopened bottle of wine left. Opening it, she poured a glass for Yang and herself. “To the end of a truly beautiful story.”

Yang shook her head, taking a step forward and linking her arm with Blake's.

“No, this is just the beginning.” She whispered. 

They both clinked glasses and took a sip through intertwined arms. 

And thus is the tale of the beauty and her beast.


End file.
